i 


Law  Sports  at  Grays  Inn 

(1594) 


iia 


REPORTS 


'^■ 


AND    /M'cJl/^:^^ 


CASES, 

TAKEN 

In  the  time  of  Queen  ELIZA'BETH,  Km^^fAMES, 
and  King  C  H  J1{  LE  S', 

Colleded  and  Reported  by  that  learned  Lawyer 

WILLIAM    NOY, 

Sometimes  Reader  of  the  Honourable  Societie  of 

LINCOLNES-IN  NE, 

SINCE 

ATTOVRNEY    GENERALL 

tothelate  KING   CHJI^LES. 

Conteining  moft  Exeellent  matter  of  Ex- 
ceptions to  all  manner  of  Declarations,  Pleadings, 

and  Demurrers,  that  there  is  fcarce  one  Action 
in  a  Probability  of  being  brought,  but  here  it  is 
throughly  examin'd  and  Exactly  layd. 


0^^[m  tranjlited into  E^nglijloi 


Wi;h  Two  neceflary  Tables  of  the  Cafes  and  Concent?,  for 
the  R eaders  eafe  and  benefit. 


Printed  by  F.  L,  for  MattheDf  WJbancke  at  Craycs-lnneGzic,  and  T.  Firby 
near  Crajes-Inne  Gate  in  Holkrni^  1656. 

(See  Page  36) 


Law  Sports  at  Gray's  Inn 

(1594) 


Including  Shakespeare's  connection 
with  the  Inn's  of  Court,  the  origin 
of  the  Capias  Utlegatum  re  Coke 
and  Bacon,  Francis  Bacon's 
connection  with  Warwickshire, 
together  with  a  reprint  of  the 
Gesta  Grayorum 


By  Basil  Brown 


Author       Notes  on  Elizabethen  Poets," 

"Supposed  Caricature  of  the  Droeshout 

Portrait  of  Shakespeare,"   etc. 


NEW  YORK 

'-1921- 


Copyright  1921 
By  Basil  Brown 


Privately  Printed  by  the  Author 


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To  Gray's  Inn 

!         J  "Old  Purpulii  Britain's  Ornament" 

the  Author  Dedicates  this  humble  offering 


338486 


CONTENTS 


Introduction    i-xciv 

Shakespeare's  Connection  With  tlie  Inns  of  Court 1-25 

Shakespeare's  Plays  Controlled  by  Bacon's  Friends 26-  34 

Why  Queen  Elizabeth  Neglected  Bacon — That  Capias  Vtlcyatum.  34-  35 

Origin  of  "Capias  itlc(/aium"  Insult  Offered  to  Bacon  by  Queen 

Elizabeth's  Attorney-General,   Sir  P^dward  Coke 37-  49 

Francis  Bacon's  Connection  With  Warwickshire  and  the  Forest 

of  Arden    50-  78 

Bacon's  Connection  With   the  Burbage's 79-119 

You  Would  Pluck  Out  the  Heart  of  My  Mystery 120-150 

Shakespeare's  Lodgings  in   Silver  Street 151-155- 

Bacon's  Warwickshire  Kinsmen  and  the  Underhill's 156-161 

W^as  Anne  Cecil  the  Prototype  of  Helena  in  "All's  W^ell" 162-168- 

Appendix  A — 

History  of  the  Manor  and  Ancient  Barony  of  Castle  Com- 
be.   Re  Sir  John  Fastolf 's  Ward 169-176. 

Appendix  B — 

Edmund  Tilney,  Master  of  the  Bevels 177-182. 

Appendix  C — 

List  of  Lands  Owned  by  the  Cooke's,  Lords  of  Hartshill 184-188- 


INTRODUCTION 

"It  is  a  point  fit  and  necessary  in  the  front 
or  beginning  of  this  work  without  hesitation  or 
reservation  to  be  professed,  that  it  is  no  less  true 
in  this  human  kingdom  of  knowledge  than  in 
God's  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  that  no  man  shall 
enter  into  it  except  he  become  first  as  a  little 
child." — Bacon's  Valerius  Terminus. 

Shakespeare  clothes  the  same  truth  as  follows : 

Hel.    "He  that  of  greatest  works  is  finisher. 

Oft  does  them  by  the  weakest  minister; 
So  holy  writ  in  babes  hath  judgment  shown, 
When  judges  hath  been  babes.    Great  floods 

have  fiown 
From  simple  sources;  and  great  seas  have 

dried. 
When  miracles  have  by  the  greatest  been 

denied."  All's  Well—ll-i. 

The  spirit  of  Truth  breathes  through  these  lines  of 
Bacon's,  for  he  had  in  his  nature  a  quality  of  divine- 
ness.    The  same  idea  as  expressed  by  Shakespeare  is  a 

"Truth  in  beauty  dyed." 
The  above  quotations  assimilate  so  well,  and  seem 
so  of  a  piece,  that  I  cannot  divorce  the  one  from  the 
other,  especially  in  these  pages  where  their  authors 
are  so  often  referred  to.  And  to  confess  a  truth  to 
the  patient  reader,  they  gave  me  courage  to  begin  this, 
the  second  reprint  of  the  Gesta  Grayorum  in  19 13,  and 
caused  me  to  think  as  Helena  did  in  All's  Well, 

"What  I  can  do,  can  do  no  hurt  to  try.'' 


Search  was  made  at  Columbia  University  Library,. 
Congressional  Library  and  British  Museum,  but  none 
of  these  Libraries  possess  a  copy  of  the  Gesta  Gray- 
orum.  It  was  not  until  this  reprint  was  in  book  pages 
that  Mr.  Frederic  W.  Erb,  Supervisor  of  the  loan 
department  of  Columbia  University  Library  (to  whom 
I  am  extremely  indebted)  procured  from  the  Boston 
Public  Library  a  facsimile  of  the  title  page  of  its 
copy  of  the  Gesta  Grayorum,  which  is  used  in  this 
reprint.  My  best  thanks  are  also  due  to  Mr.  W.  A. 
White  of  Brooklyn,  who  kindly  lent  me  his  fine  orig- 
inal copy  of  the  Gesta  Grayorum,  from  which  I  have 
copied  W.  Canning's  Dedication  to  Matthew  Smyth,. 
Esq.  Mr.  White's  library  contains  some  of  the  rarest 
books  known  to  collectors. 

An  exact  copy  has  also  been  made  of  the  title  page, 
as  well  as  the  page  containing  the  '' Capias  Utlegatum" 
— which  Attorney  General  Coke  would  have  clapped 
upon  Bacon's  back.  This  I  discovered  in  Sir  William 
Noy's  ^'Reports  and  Cases  taken  in  the  Time  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  King  James,  and  King  Charles,"  London. 
1656  folio.   {See  frontis  page.) 

This  ''Capias  Utlegatum''  has  given  birth  to  many 
cryptograms  and  biliteral  ciphers  undeserving  of  be- 
lief; and  I  venture  to  say  they  have  brought  more  dis- 
credit on  the  fame  of  Francis  Bacon  than  the  original 
writ  of  outlawry  itself. 

Interwoven  in  a  web  of  mystery,  seemed  to  me  the 
two  greatest  names  in  P^nglish  literature  —  Francis 
Bacon  and  William  Shakespeare.  Were  it  not  for  the 
Northumberland  Manuscript,  wherein  these  two  names 


IV 


<:o-mingle  and  are  forever  entwined,  as  early  as  1594 
(because  ^^Orations  at  Graie's  Inne  Revells"  . 
''By  Mr.  Francis  Bacon,"  is  mentioned  as  a  part  of  its 
contents),  we  would  never  have  known  that  Bacon 
■composed  the  speeches  for  the  six  Councillors  in  the 
Gesta  Gray  ovum. 

Spedding,  commenting  on  the  Gesta  Grayorum  and 
these  speeches,  says: 

''Thus  ended  one  of  the  most  elegant  Christ- 
mas entertainments,  probably,  that  was  ever 
presented  to  an  audience  of  statesmen  and  cour- 
tiers. That  Bacon  had  a  hand  in  the  general 
design  is  merely  a  conjecture;  we  know  that  he 
had  a  taste  in  such  things  and  did  sometimes  take 
a  part  in  arranging  them;  and  the  probability 
seemed  strong  enough  to  justify  a  more  detailed 
account  of  the  whole  evening's  work  than  I 
should  otherwise  have  thought  fit.  But  that  the 
speeches  of  the  six  councillors  were  written  by 
him,  and  by  him  alone,  no  one  who  is  at  all  fa- 
miliar with  his  style,  either  of  thought  or  ex- 
pression, will  for  a  moment  doubt  it.  They 
carry  his  signature  in  every  sentence.  And  they 
have  a  much  deeper  interest  for  us  than  could 
have  been  looked  for  in  such  a  sportive  exercise 
belonging  to  so  forgotten  a  form  of  idleness. 
All  these  councillors  speak  with  Bacon's  tongue 
and  out  of  Bacon's  brain;  but  the  second  and 
fifth  speak  out  of  his  heart  and  judgment  also. 
The  propositions  of  the  latter  contain  an  enume- 
ration of  those  very  reforms,  in  state  and  gov- 
ernment, which  throughout  his  life  he  was  most 
anxious  to  see  realized.  In  those  of  the  former 
"may  be  traced,  faintly  but  unmistakably,  a  first 
hint  of  his  great  project  for  the  restoration  of 


the  dominion   of   knowledge, — a   first  draft  of 
'Solomon's  House,' — a  rudiment  of  that  history 
of  universal  nature,  which  was  to  have  formed 
the  third  part  of  the  'Instauratio,'  and  is  in  my 
judgment    (as   I    have   elsewhere   explained    at 
large)   the  principal  novelty  and  great  charac- 
teristic   feature    of    the    Baconian    philosophy. 
This    composition    is    valuable,    therefore,    not 
only  as   showing  with  what  fidelity  his  mind 
when  left  to  itself  pointed  always,  in  sport  as  in 
earnest,  towards  the  great  objects  which  he  had 
set  before  him,  but  also  as  giving  us  one  of  the 
very  few  certain  dates  by  which  we  can  measure 
the  progress  of  his  philosophical  speculations  in 
these  early  years." — Letters  and  Life  of  Francis 
Bacon,  Vol.  I,  p.  342  et  seq. 
Nor  would  we  have  known  Francis  Davison,  and 
Thomas  Campion  had  collaborated  in  the  Masque  of 
Proteus,  had  not  Davison  in  his  Poetical  Rhapsody, 
1 602- 1 608,  revealed  the  fact.    It  is  by  these  mosaics  or 
piecing  bits  together  that  the  student  must  endeavor 
to   peep  behind   the  curtain  of  the   Gesta  Grayorum 
sports  and  revels. 

In  Spedding's  account  of  the  Gesta  Grayorum,  he 
says: 

"It  is  a  pity  that  the  publisher,  whoever  he 
was,  did  not  tell  us  a  little  more  about  the  manu- 
script, though  it  is  probable  enough  that  he  had 
not  much  more  to  tell.  Nothing  is  more  natural 
than  that  such  a  narrative  should  have  been  writ- 
ten at  the  time  for  the  amusement  and  satisfac- 
tion of  the  parties  concerned;  should  have  been 
laid  by  and  forgotten;  and  found  again  lying  by 
itself,  without  anybody  to  tell  its  story  for  it." — 
Letters  and  Life  of  Francis  Bacon,  Vol.  I,  p.  343. 


VI 


The  writer  hopes  to  tell  some  of  its  story  and  of  the 
actors  in  it.  Francis  Davison,  the  poet,  who  acted  in 
the  Gesta  Grayoriim,  mentions  having  "lent"  to  "Eleaz 
Hodgson,"  "Graye's  'In  Sportes'  under  Sir  Henry 
Helmes."    N.  H.  Nicolas,  Ed.  Poetical  Rhapsody. 

Henry  Helmes  (our  Prince  of  Portpoole)  was  not 
knighted  until  1603  at  Whitehall  by  James  I. 

As  has  been  said,  Campion  and  Davison  composed 
the  Masque  of  Proteus  which  was  performed  before 
the  Queen  at  Greenwich  Palace  at  Shrovetide,  1594-5. 
In  1602  Davison  brought  out  his  Poetical  Rhapsody 
and  in  one  of  his  sonnets  "To  his  first  love"  is  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"Upon  presenting  her  with  the  Speech  at  Gray's 
Inn  Mask,  at  the  court,  1594, 
Consisting  of  three  parts — the  story  of  Proteus' 

Transformations, 
The  Wonders  of  the  Adamantine  Rock,  and  a 
Speech  to  her  Majesty." 

"Who  in  these  lines  may  better  claim  a  part, 
That  sing  the  praises  of  the  maiden  Queen, 
Than  you,  fair  sweet,  that  only  sovereign  been 
Of  the  poor  kingdom  of  my  faithful  heart? 
Or,  to  whose  view  should  I  this  speech  impart; 
Where  the  adamantine  rock's  great  power  is 
shown ; 
But  to  your  conq'ring  eyes,  whose  force  once 
known. 
Makes  even  iron  hearts  loath  thence  to  part? 
Or  who  of  Proteus'  sundry  transformations, 

May  better  send  you  the  new  feigned  story 
Than  I,  whose  love  unfeigned  felt  no  mutations. 
Since  to  be  yours  I  first  received  the  glory? 

VII 


Accept    then,    of    these    lines,    though    meanly 
penned. 
So  fit  for  you  to  take  and  me  to  send." 

In  this  Sonnet  it  will  be  noted  Davison  only  refers 
to  "the  speech"  or  to  the  lines,  "That  sing  the  praises 
of  the  jnaiden  Queen."  There  was  more  than  one 
speech  recited  by  the  two  speakers  in  the  Mask,  an 
Esquire  and  Proteus.  The  others  were  singers  and 
musicians. 

Knowing  the  sad  history  of  young  Davison's  father, 
these  lines  in  praise  of  the  stony-hearted  Queen  are 
pathetic  in  the  extreme.  Elizabeth's  character  was 
diametrically  opposite  to  this  ideal  of  the  poet,  and 
none  knew  this  better  than  her  flatterers.  I  think 
Davison  spoke  the  speech  of  the  Esquire  himself,  hop- 
ing to  bring  the  remembrance  of  his  sorrowing  father 
to  the  Queen's  notice.  The  Earl  of  Essex  and  Francis 
and  Anthony  Bacon  were  in  sympathy  with  young 
Davison,  who  was  distantly  related  to  the  Bacons.  See 
A.  H.  Bullen's  Ed.  of  the  Poetical  Rhapsody,  1891,  for 
Davison's  letters  to  Anthony  Bacon,  Secretary  to  the 
Earl  of  Essex,  1596. 

When  Elizabeth  failed  to  get  two  honorable  men. 
Sir  Amias  Paulet  and  Sir  Drue  Drury,  to  secretly 
assassinate  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  she  sneered  at  their 
"daintiness."  Even  after  she  had  signed  the  warrant 
for  Mary's  execution  and  returned  it  to  the  Secretary, 
Sir  William  Davison,  she  desired  him  to  "hint  to 
Paulet  that  he  might  privately  rid  her  of  his  trouble- 
some charge."  After  Mary  was  beheaded,  Elizabeth 
had  Davison  arrested  and  sent  to  the  Tower,  although 

viii 


he  was  suffering  at  the  time  with  palsy.  He  was  fined 
"ten  thousand  marl-is  and  imprisonment  in  the  Tower 
during  the  Queen's  pleasure."  Her  "pleasure"  kept 
him  in  the  Tower  until  1589,  although  in  his  own 
words  he  had  "acted  sincerely,  soundly  and  honestly." 
Elizabeth  remained  deaf  to  his  petition  and  he  died 
in  1608  without  regaining  her  favor.  Davison,  after 
paying  his  fine,  was  reduced  to  poverty  and  left  little 
for  his  six  children,  two  of  whom,  Francis  and  Chris- 
topher, were  students  of  Gray's  Inn. 

"Errors  like  straws  upon  the  surface  flow; 
Who  would  search  for  pearls  must  dive  below." 

The  Gesta  Grayorum  must  excite  the  interest  of 
every  true  lover  of  Shakespeare,  for  in  its  pages  the 
student  will  view  to  the  life  many  of  the  men  and 
women  for  whom  he  wrote  the  immortal  poems  and 
plays. 

Among  the  illustrious  men,  the  following  are  named : 

"On  the  3d  of  January  at  night,  there  was  a 
most  honourable  presence  of  great  and  noble 
personages,  that  came  as  invited  to  our  Prince; 
as  namely,  the  Hight  Honourable  the  Lord 
Keeper,  the  Earls  of  Shrewsbury,  Cumberland, 
Northumberland,  Southampton,  and  Essex;  the 
Lords  Buckhurst,  Windsor,  Mountjoy,  Shef- 
field, Compton,  Rich,  Burleygh,  Mounteagle, 
and  the  Lord  Thomas  Howard;  Sir  Thomas 
Henneage,  Sir  Robert  Cecill;  with  a  great  num- 
ber of  knights,  ladies,  and  very  worshipful  per- 
sonages; all  of  which  had  convenient  places, 
and  very  good  entertainment,  to  their  good  lik- 
ing and  contentment."     P.  33,  Gesta  Grayorum. 


IX 


The  Great  Queen  herself  is  shown  as  gracing  the 
gentlemen  of  Gray's  Inn  and  especially  compliment- 
ing their  Prince  of  Piirpoole,  young  Henry  Helmes  of 
Norfolk.  Elizabeth  was  over  sixty  years  old.  Did 
her  memory  go  back  to  "a  grand  and  solemn  Christ- 
mas" performed  by  the  gentlemen  of  the  Inner  Temple 
in  1 561?  On  that  occasion  her  favorite,  Lord  Robert 
Dudley,  was  the  "chief  performer,  and  lord  governor, 
or  Prince  and  patron  of  the  honorable  Order  of  Pe- 
gasus." Twenty-four  gentlemen  of  the  Inner  Temple 
were  by  him  dubbed  ''Knights  of  the  Order  of 
Pegasus."  Dugales  Origines.  Gray's  Inn  sent  an  Am- 
bassador to  "grace"  this  Masque  of  Palaphilos — "Be- 
cause our  State  of  Graya  did  grace  Templaria  with 
the  presence  of  an  Ambassador  about  thirty  years 
since."  P.  29,  Gesta  Grayorum.  Hesiod  implies  that 
"the  winged  horse  yoked  to  Jove's  Chariot  bears  Jove's 
thunders  and  lightnings."  Thirty-three  years  had 
flown  since  that  eventful  time  but  still  the  Queen 
seemed  to  keep  her  age  .  .  .  "in  youth's  immortal 
flower,"  according  to  her  flattering  poet  in  1599. 

Francis  Bacon  was  born  January  22,  ii;6i.  Just  a 
month  after  her  favorite,  Lord  Robert  Dudley,  had 
inaugurated  the  Order  of  Pegasus,  and  from  the  time 
that  he  could  lisp  her  name  he  adored  the  Queen.  In 
the  Sports  and  Revels  at  Gray's  Inn,  he  was  always 
head  and  front.  It  is  probable  he  contrived  the  Order 
of  the  Helmet.,  as  well  as  composed  the  six  Councillors' 
speeches  in  the  Gesta  Grayorum. 

In  1870  Spedding  edited  a  part  of  what  is  now 
called    the   Northumberland  Manuscript.     This   had 


X 


been  found  by  Mr.  John  Bruce  at  Northumberland 
House  in  August,  1867.  Herein  were  "found  the 
transcripts  of  the  papers  of  Bacon"  which  were  com- 
municated to  Spedding  by  Bruce,  who  says: 

"I  mentioned  this  circumstance  at  the  time  to 
some  members  of  the  family  of  the  Duke  of 
Northumberland,  who  took  an  interest  in  what 
I  was  about.  I  pointed  it  out  as  a  subject  for 
further  inquiry,  and  at  the  same  time  directed 
attention  to  the  oddity  of  the  recurrence  and 
combination  of  the  names  of  Bacon  and  Shakes- 
peare in  the  scribble  on  the  fly-leaf  of  the  MS." 

Speddings  in  his  comment  on  this  says: 

"The  name  Shakespeare  is  spelt  in  every  case 
as  it  was  always  printed  in  those  days,  and  not  as 
he  himself  in  any  case  ever  wrote  it." — A  Con- 
ference of  Pleasure,  p.  xxv. 

The  outside  cover  of  the  manuscript  has  two  quota- 
tions from  Shakespeare,  one  being: 

^^Revealing  day  through  every  cranie  peeps!' 

In  the  list  of  its  contents  Shakespeare's  Rich.  II  and 
Rich.  Ill  are  mentioned,  also:  ''Orations  at  Gray's 
Inne  Revells." 

My  opinion  is  that  the  Gesta  Grayorum  was  origin- 
ally a  part  of  the  Northumberland  Manuscript,  which 
was  written  circa  1594- 1597..  The  original  was  first 
printed  by  W.  Canning  in  1688  and  dedicated  "To 
the  most  Honorable  Mathew  Smyth,  Esq.,  Comptroller 
of  The  Honorable  Society  of  The  Inner  Temple.'^ 
Where  or  when  Canning  found  it  is  not  known. 

xi 


To  the  student  of  Elizabethan  literature  the  Gesta 
Grayorum  is  of  inestimable  value.  In  it  are  brought  to- 
gether the  principal  officers  of  Elizabeth's  Court,  peers 
of  the  realm,  great  lawyers,  noblemen,  knights  and 
gentlemen,  and  although  last,  not  least,  the  most  emi- 
nent men  of  letters,  Thomas  Sackville,  Lord  Buck- 
hurst,  Bacon,  Thomas  Campion,  poet  and  physician, 
Francis  Davison,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  John 
Lyly  was  also  present  among  these  poets,  and  that  he 
collaborated  in  the  masques  and  dumb  shows. 

Persistent  research  leads  me  also  to  believe  that 
Shakespeare  wrote  his  Comedy  of  Errors  for  this  oc- 
casion. It  fits  in  perfectly  with  the  ^'law  sports."  Ref- 
erence to  the  Gesta  Grayorum  has  hitherto,  like  a  will- 
o-the-wisp,  flitted  through  many  Shakespearean  books, 
but  the  inquiring  mind  has  not  been  satisfied  with  these 
allusions.  The  original  manuscript,  as  I  have  said 
before,  was  printed  by  W.  Canning  in  1688.  Mr.  John 
Nichols  published  the  first  reprint  of  same  in  his 
Progresses  of  Elizabeth,  1788-1823.  Spedding  said: 
"The  printed  copy  in  Gesta  Grayorum  is  full  of  errors." 

I  had  not  even  that  to  follow  when  I  made  this,  the 
second  reprint  of  the  work,  but  have  copied  that  of 
Nichols  in  his  Progresses  of  Elizabeth,  Ed.  1823,  III, 
p.  262.  Nichols  says :  "This  tract  was  printed  in  1688 
for  W.  Canning,  at  his  shop  in  the  Temple  Cloysters. 
The  publisher  was  Mr.  Henry  Keepe,  who  published 
the  monuments  of  Westminster."  Henry  Keepe  was 
an  antiquary,  and  published  several  works. 

This,  the  second  reprint  of  the  Gesta  Grayorum, 
has  been  in  type  pages  for  six  years,  but  owing  to  the 


xu 


terrible  world  war  and  the  writer's  illness,  could  not 
be  published  until  now. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  names  of  Francis  Bacon 
and  William  Shakespeare  have  been  linked  together 
as  early  as  1594- 1597,  in  the  Northumberland  Manu- 
script, and  these  super-eminent  men  are  again  brought 
into  close  touch  in  the  Gesta  Grayorum.  Bacon  was 
born  great,  Shakespeare  achieved  greatness;  but  the 
student  well  knows  that  even  the  well-born  men  of 
illustrious  family  did  not  and  could  not  succeed  in  that 
age,  without  a  '^friend  at  Court." 

The  peerless  Bacon  himself  did  not  secure  an  office 
in  State  affairs  until  long  after  Elizabeth's  death 
(June,  1607)  when  he  was  46  years  of  age.  Is  it  not 
plausible  therefore  to  think  that  the  unknown  youth 
from  Stratford  could  not  have  leaped,  Minerva-like, 
into  the  highest  sphere  of  intellectual  life  without  a 
most  potent  friend  at  Court?  It  is  my  belief  that 
Shakespeare's  friend  was  Francis  Bacon.  It  follows 
therefore  that  through  Bacon's  influence  Shakespeare 
first  secured  an  entrance  to  the  theatre,  and  afterwards, 
through  the  same  power,  became  one  of  the  "Lord 
Chamberlain's  Servants."  Up  to  the  time  of  the  Gesta 
Grayorum,  in  fact  up  to  1598,  the  Shakespeare  plays 
had  appeared  anonymously,  but  on  the  very  date  on 
which  the  Comedy  of  Errors  was  performed  at  Gray's 
Inn,  Shakespeare's  name  is  for  the  first  time  recorded 
among  the  Ivord  Chamberlain's  servants,  i.  e.,  the 
players.  When  not  performing  at  Court,  the  Lord 
Chamberlain's  players  were  allowed  to  play  "pub- 
liquely."     There  is  no  record  or  any  contemporary  evi- 


xni 


dence  that  Shakespeare  was  ever  a  manager  of  a  com- 
pany of  players,  or  of  a  theatre.  The  Burbages,  James 
and  Cuthbert  his  son,  were  theatre  managers.  There 
is  no  record  either  of  Shakespeare  ever  having  received 
payments  for  the  company. 

Knight's  Biography  of  Shakespeare  (p.  473,  Ed. 
1882)  says: 

"The  last  entry  in  the  books  of  the  Treasurer 
of  the  Chamber  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth 
...    is  the  following: 

"  'To  John  Heminges  and  the  rest  of  his  com- 
panie,  servaunts  to  the  Lorde  Chamberleyne, 
uppon  the  councells  warraunte,  dated  at  White- 
hall the  XXth  of  Aprill,  1603,  for  their  paines 
and  expenses  in  presentinge  before  the  late 
Queenes  Majesty  twoe  playes,  the  one  uppon 
St.  Stephens  day  at  nighte  and  thother  upon 
,  Candlemas  day  at  night,  for  each  of  which  they 
were  allowed,  by  way  of  her  Majesty's  rewarde, 
tenne  pounds,  amounting  in  all  to  XX.'  " 

This  shows  Heminge  was  the  business  manager  of 
the  Lord  Chamberlain's  servants,  of  which  Shakespeare 
was  one. 

In  the  accounts  of  the  treasurer  of  the  Chamber  from 
1594  (Gesta  Grayorum  time)  to  Shakespeare's  death 
in  1616,  John  Heminge  received  payments  for  the  plays 
by  warrants  of  the  Lord  Chamberlain.  During  the 
troubles  of  the  Earl  of  Essex,  Augustine  Phillips  was 
the  manager. 

When,  out  of  courtesy  to  King  James  L  Lord  Hund- 
son's  men  became  the  "King's  servants"  in  1603,  John 
Heminge  continued  to  receive  the  payments  for  plays 
from    that   date    up    to    1625,    when    James    L    died. 


XIV 


Heminge  was  not  only  the  treasurer  of  the  company 
but  was  also  a  manager.  I  find  he  continued  to  receive 
the  payments  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1630.  No- 
where is  there  found  contemporary  mention  of 
''Shakespeare's  company."  This  the  student  ought  to 
bear  in  mind,  if  he  would  be  exact.  The  plays  were 
called  Shakespeare's.  John  Heminge  and  Henry 
Condell  in  the  Folio  of  1623  refer  to  him  as  "our  friend 
and  fellow." 

When  Hamlet  had  caught  the  conscience  of  the  King 
with  his  dumb  show  and  play,  he  turns  to  Horatio,  his 
friend,  and  says:  "Would  not  this  Sir,  and  a  forest  of 
feathers  (if  the  rest  of  my  fortunes  turn  Turk  [cruel] 
with  me  .  .  . )  get  me  a  fellowship  in  a  cry  of 
players,  Sir?" 

Knight  says,  "A  cry  of  players  was  a  company;  a 
fellowship  was  a  participation  in  the  profits."  We 
know  from  Prof.  Wallace's  discoveries  that  Shakes- 
peare owned  at  least  a  whole  share  and  a  quarter  in 
1599,  but  "his  final  interest  in  the  Globe  exceeded  by 
very  little  a  fourteenth  part  of  the  whole  property." 
Lee's  Life,  p.  305. 

During  all  this  period  of  "Errors"  dumb  shows,  ora- 
tions, masques  and  mummings  at  Gray's  Inn,  Francis 
Bacon  was  suffering  an  "exquisite  disgrace."  In  a 
letter  to  Essex  (1594)  he  writes: 

My  Lord, 

I  thank  your  Lordship  very  much  for  your 
kind  and  comfortable  letter,  which  I  hope  will 
be  followed  at  hand  with  another  of  more  assur- 
ance. And  I  must  confess  this  very  delay  hath 
gone  so  near  me,  as  it  hath  almost  overthrown 


XV 


my  health.  For  when  I  revolved  the  good  mem- 
ory of  my  father,  the  near  degree  of  alliance  I 
stand  to  my  Lord  Treasurer  [William  Cecil], 
your  Lordship's  so  signalled  and  declared 
favour,  the  honorable  testimony  of  so  many 
counsellors,  the  commendation  unlaboured  and 
in  sort  offered  by  my  Lords  the  Judges  and  the 
Master  of  the  Rolls  elect;  that  I  was  voiced  with 
great  expectation,  and  (though  I  say  it  myself) 
with  the  wishes  of  most  men,  to  the  higher 
place;  that  I  am  a  man  that  the  Queen  hath 
already  done  for;  and  princes,  especially  her 
Majesty,  loveth  to  make  an  end  where  they  be- 
gin; and  then  add  hereunto  the  obscureness  and 
many  exceptions  to  my  competitors;  when  (I 
say)  I  resolve  all  this,  I  cannot  but  conclude 
with  myself  that  no  man  ever  received  a  more 
exquisite  disgrace.  And  therefore  truly,  my 
Lord,  I  was  determined,  and  am  determined,  if 
her  Majesty  reject  me,  this  to  do.  My  nature 
can  take  no  evil  ply;  but  I  will  by  God's  assist- 
ance, with  this  disgrace  of  my  fortune,  and  yet 
with  that  comfort  of  the  good  opinion  of  so  many 
worthy  and  honorable  persons,  retire  myself 
with  a  couple  of  men  to  Cambridge,  and  there 
spend  my  life  in  my  studies  and  contemplations 
without  looking  back.  I  humbly  pray  your 
Lordship  to  pardon. me  for  troubling  you  with 
my  melancholy,"  etc.  Life  and  Letters  of 
Bacon,  Vol.  I,  p.  290. 

Bacon  grew  pale  and  thin.  His  mother  wrote  to  his 
brother  Anthony  that  Francis  "was  musing  on  she  knew 
not  what."  His  mortal  enemy.  Coke,  secured  the  of- 
fice of  attorney-general,  which  Bacon  had  so  long 
hoped  for. 


XVI 


In  his  essay  Of  Friendship  Bacon  says: 

"Men  have  their  time,  and  die  many  times  in 
desire  of  some  things,  which  they  principally 
take  to  heart:  the  bestowing  of  a  child,  the  fin- 
ishing of  a  work  or  the  like." 

And  truly  at  this  period   Bacon  suffered  the  keenest 
anguish  of  mind. 

This  Essay  Of  Friendship  is  so  fine  that  I  venture  a 
further  quotation: 

If  a  man  have  a  true  friend,  he  may  rest  almost 
secure  that  the  care  of  those  things  will  continue 
after  him;  so  that  a  man  hath,  as  it  were,  two 
lives  in  his  desires.  A  man  hath  a  body,  and  that 
body  is  confined  to  a  place ;  but  where  friendship 
is,  all  offices  of  life  are,  as  it  were,  granted  to  him 
and  his  deputy;  for  he  may  exercise  them  by  his 
friend.  How  many  things  are  there  which  a 
man  cannot,  with  any  face,  or  comeliness,  say  or 
do  himself?  A  man  can  scarce  allege  his  own 
merits  with  modesty,  much  less  extol  them:  a 
man  cannot  sometimes  brook  to  supplicate,  or 
beg,  and  a  number  of  the  like :  but  all  these 
things  are  graceful  in  a  friend's  mouth,  which 
are  blushing  in  a  man's  own.  So  again,  a  man's 
person  hath  many  proper  relations  which  he  can- 
not put  ofi.  A  man  cannot  speak  to  his  son  but 
as  a  father;  to  his  wife  but  as  a  husband;  to  his 
enemy  but  upon  terms :  whereas  a  friend  may 
speak  as  the  case  requires,  and  not  as  it  sorteth 
with  the  person:  but  to  enumerate  these  things 
were  endless ;  I  have  given  the  rule,  where  a  man 
cannot  fitly  play  his  own  part,  if  he  have  not  a 
friend,  he  may  quit  the  stage. 

I  consider  the  Gesfa  Grayorum  the  most  important 

Tract  in  Elizabethan  literature.    Viewed  as  the  source 


xvn 


of  Shakespeare's  Comedy  of  Errors,  it  ought  to  be  wel- 
comed by  all  who  have  the  Elizabethan  poets  well  in 
mind.  Throughout  the  three  hundred  and  twenty-six 
years  that  separate  us  from  the  reign  of  Henry  Prince 
of  Piirpoole,  at  Gray's  Inn,  where  Bacon  masked  and 
reveled,  Shakespeare's  name  and  fame  have  grown  with 
undiminished  lustre;  while  the  memory  of  his  illustri- 
ous contemporary.  Sir  Francis  Bacon,  is  revered  and 
loved  by  posterity.  Bacon  was  looked  up  to  by  those 
who  loved  letters,  in  his  own  day.  His  wisdom,  rhet- 
oric, and  oratory,  were  admired  by  the  chief  poets  of 
his  time,  and  as  a  prophet  and  lawgiver,  he  is  forever 
identified  with  his  country's  fame. 

Those  who  love  or  devote  themselves  to  letters  usually 
scorn  lucre,  and  Bacon  was  no  exception  to  this  un- 
worldliness.  That  worthy  follower  of  Apollo,  Thomas 
Campion,  poet,  musician  and  physician,  in  an  Epigram 
(190)  proves  Bacon  had: 

''a  hand  open  as  day  for  melting  charity." 

and  in  this  Epigram  he  shows  that  the  King  in  honor- 
ing Bacon,  in  1617,  is  more  honored  himself  thereby. 
Campion  has  two  Epigrams  on  Bacon.  I  will  give  the 
latter  one  first  (Campion's  works  Ed.  by  Biillen,  1889.) 

190  Ad  eundem. 

Patre,  nee  im  merito  quamvis  amplissimus  esset, 
Amplior,  ut  virtus,  sic  tibi  crescit  honor. 
Quantus  ades,  seu  te  spinosa  volumina  juris, 
Seu  schloa,  sua  dulcis  Musa  (Bacone)  vocat! 
Quam  super  ingenti  tua  re  prudentia  regnat, 
Et  tota  aethereo  nectare  lingua  madens! 
Quam  bene  cum  tacita  nectis  gravitate  lepores! 

xviii 


Quam  semel  admissis  stat  tuus  almus  amor! 
Hand  stupet  aggesti  mens  in  fulgore  metalli ; 
Nunquam  visa  tibi  est  res  peregrina,  dare. 
O  factum  egregie,  tua  (Rex  clarissime)  tali 
Gracia  cum  splendet  suspicienda  virol 

That  is : 

Although  you  were  most  honorable  and  duly  by 

your  paternal  descent 
More  impressive,  as  your  merit,  so  grows  your 

honor, 
In  all  the  fullness  of  thy  presence,  whether  the 

obstruce  tomes  of  the  law, 
Whether  the  school,  or  Sweet  Muse,  O  Bacon, 

summons  thee! 
And  with  all  thy  tongue  imbued  with  nectar  of 

the  upper  world! 
How  well  with  silent  gravity  thou  completest 

sallies  of  wit! 
How  firm  is  thy  sweet  affection  for  those  once 

admitted  to  it! 
Nor  is  your  mind  dazed  by  the  sheen  of  metal 

heaped  up. 
Never  has  giving  appeared  by  you  ?   foreign 

thing. 
O  splendid  act  (most  gracious  King)  when  thy 

Grace 
Is  resplendent  as  one  to  be  looked  up  to  by  such 

a  man ! 

Campion  so  well  skilled  in  music,  who  could  make 
marvelous  sweet  airs  and  songs,  was  moved  by  the  elo- 
quent "tongue"  of  Bacon,  "imbued  with  nectar  of  the 
upper  world." 

Francis  Meres  [1598!  was  enamoured  of  Shakes- 
peare for  the  same  gift,  and  calls  him  "mellifluous  and 
honey-tongued  Shakespeare,"  and  he  says  "the  Muses 


XIX 


would  speak  with  Shakespeare's  tongue  if  they  would 
speak  English." 

Campion's  other  Epigram  (189)  on  Bacon,  ibid,  p. 

303-  ... 

Ad  ampliss.  toliiis  Angliae  Cancellarium,  Fr. 
Ba.  ' 

Debet  miilta  tibi  veneranda   (Bacon)  poesis 

Illo  de  docto  perlepidoqiie  libro, 

One  manet  inscriptus  Veterum  Sapientia;  famae 

Et  per  cuncta  tuae  saecla  manebit  opus; 

Multaque    te    celebrent    quanquam    tia   scripta, 
fatebor 
.     Ingenue,  hoc  laute  tu  mihi,  docte,  sapis. 

That  is: 

To   the   Right   Honorable,   the   Chancellor  of  All 

England,  Francis  Bacon. 

Much  owes  to  thee  0  Bacon,  the  worshipful  art 

of  poetry 
In  connection  with  that  book  learned  afid  very 

clever, 
Which  remains  inscribed  Veterum  Sapientia; 
And  through  all  the  ages  it  will  endure  a  work 

of  your  fame; 
And  although  many  writings  of  yours  make  you 

renowned  I  shall  candidly  confess 
In  this  (work)  your  wisdom  to  my  mind  appears 

with  elegance  and  learning. 

Thomas  Campion  wrote  the  Hymns  in  Praise  of 
Neptune  for  the  Gesta  Grayorum.  The  first  Hymn 
was  printed  by  Francis  Davison  in  his  Poetical  Rhap- 
sody in  1602-1608 — Query:  Was  the  following  £^/^r«m 
sent  to  the  members  of  Gray's  Inn  on  that  date?  [ibid  p. 

366). 

XX 


Ad  Graios — 

Grali  sive  magis  juvat  vetiistum 
N omen,  purpulii,  decus  Britannum, 
Sic  Astraea  gregem  beare  vestruni, 
Sic  Pallas  velet;  iit  favere  nugis 
Disjuncti  socii  velitis  ipsi, 
Tetrae  si  neque  sint,  nee  infacetae, 
Sed  qiiales  merito  exhibere  plausu 
Vosmet,  ludere  cum  lubet,  soletis. 
That  is: 

To  Grays — 

Ye  Gray's,  or  if  you  better  like  the  name  of  old 

Purpulii  Britains  ornament, 

So  may  Astraea  be  pleased  to  bless  your  flock, 

So  Pallas  may ;  to  favor  trifles 

As  comrades  divided,  may  it  please  yourselves 

If  these  [the  trifles)  be  neither  vile,  nor  witless. 

But  such  as  deservedly  you  are  wont  to  produce 
with  praise 

Yourselves  when  you  are  wont  to  dally. 

I  think  these  "trifles"  were  the  Hymns  for  the 
Masque  which  was  performed  before  ''Astraea" 
[Queen  Elizabeth]  at  Greenwich  Palace.  ''Purpulii' 
alias  Portpoole  is  the  name  of  the  manor  in  which 
Gray's  Inn  was  situated.  This  manor  belonged  to  the 
family  of  the  Gray's  from  Edward  I  until  the  reign  of 
Henry  VII. 

Campion's  Hymns,  one  given  at  the  beginning  and 
the  other  at  the  close  of  the  Masque,  are  here  presented. 

Of  Neptune's  empire  let  us  sing. 

At  whose  command  the  waves  obey, 

To  whom  rivers  tribute  pay , 
Down  the  high  mountain  sliding: 

To  whom  the  scaly  nation  yields 


XXI 


Homage  for  their  chrystal  fields, 
Wherein  they  dwell. 

And  every  Sea-god  praise  again, 
Yearly  out  of  his  wat'ry  cell. 

To  deck  great  Neptune's  diadem. 

The  Tritons  dancing  in  a  ring, 
Before  his  palace-gates,  do  make 
The  waiters  with  their  trumpets  quake. 
Like  the  great  thunder  sounding. 

The  Sea-nymphs  chaunt  their  accents  shrill , 
And  the  Syrens  taught  to  kill 
TVith  their  sweet  voice. 

Make  every  echoing  voice  reply 

Unto  their  gentle  mourning  noise,  J 

In  praise  of  Neptune's  empery.  i 

The  second  Hymn,  which  was  sung  at  the  departure 
of  the  Maskers  into  the  Rock. 

Shadows  before  the  shining  Sun  do  vanish : 

Th'  iron-forcing  Adamant  doth  resign 

His  virtues,  where  the  Diamond  doth  shine. 
Pure  Holiness  doth  all  Inchantments  blemish; 
And  Councellors  of  false  Principality 

Do  fade  in  presence  of  true  Majesty. 
Shepherds  sometimes  in  Lion's-skms  were  cloath'd; 

But  when  the  Royal  Lion  doth  appear, 

JVhat  wonder  if  the  silly  swains,  for  fear. 
Their  bravery,  and  Princely  pall  have  loath' d? 

The  Lions-skin,  that  grac'd  our  vanity. 

Falls  down  in  presence  of  her  Majesty. 

This  last  Hymn  of  Campion's  seems  to  echo  the  lines 
in  the  Comedy  of  Errors  (IL2). 

''When   the   sun   shines   let  foolish   knats   make 
sport,  but  creep  in  crannies 
When  he  hides  his  beams." 

xxii 


The  lines: 
"And  Councillors  of  false  Principality 
Do  fade  in  presence  of  true  Majesty." 

remind  one  of  the  speeches  of  the  six  Councillors  of  the 
Prince  of  Purpoole,  which  were  composed  by  Bacon. 

In  Foster's  Ad.  Regis  of  Gray's  Inn,  I  find  a  Thomas 
Campion  of  London  gent,  was  admitted  April  27,  1586, 
and  on  August  10,  161 1,  Edward  Campion,  son  and  heir 
of  Thomas  Campion  of  London,  gent,  was  admitted. 

Henry  Helmes,  gent,  of  Rougham  (Rufify),  Norfolk, 
Master  of  the  Revels  Prince  of  Purpoole  was  admitted 
to  Gray's  Inn,  June  17,  1594. 

Foster's  Regist.  Adm.  to  Gray's  Inn. 

The  Gesta  Grayorum  tells  us: 

"After  many  consultations  had  hereupon  by 
the  youths  and  others  that  were  most  forward 
herein,  at  length,  about  the  12th  of  December, 
with  the  consent  and  assistance  of  the  Readers 
and  Ancients,  it  was  determined,  that  there 
should  be  elected  a  Prince  of  Purpoole,  to  gov- 
ern our  state  for  the  time;  which  was  intended 
to  be  for  the  credit  of  Gray's  Inn,  and  rather  to 
be  performed  by  witty  inventions  than  charge- 
able expenses. 

"Whereupon,  they  presently  made  choice  of 
one  Mr.  Henry  Holmes,  a  Norfolk  gentleman, 
who  was  thought  to  be  accomplished  with  all 
good  parts,  fit  for  so  great  a  dignity;  and  was 
also  a  very  proper  man  of  personage,  and  very 
active  in  dancing  and  revelling." 

It  now  remains  for  me  to  give  what  account  I  can  of 
this  Prince  of  Sports  who  reigned  and  died  in  1594.  I 
have  minutely  gleaned  what  little  I  can,  although  dili- 


XXIll 


gent  research  has  failed  to  disclose  more  than  faint  out- 
lines. However,  to  a  student  like  myself,  my  trifling 
discovery  relating  to  our  Prince  of  Purpoole  (who 
must  have  known  Shakespeare)  acquires  some  import- 
ance. 

From  1525  (perhaps  earlier)  the  gentlemen  of  Gray's 
Inn  had  at  Christmas  time  a  Lord  of  Misrule.  The 
Inns  of  Court  men  composed  their  own  plays  and  acted 
in  them.  In  1529  one  Simon  Fish  of  Gray's  Inn  acted 
a  part  against  Cardinal  Wolsey  which  so  displeased 
the  great  churchman,  that  Fish  had  to  fly  the  country. 
In  1566  George  Gascoigne's  Jocasta  was  played  by 
the  students  of  Gray's  Inn.  In  1587-8  the  poet  Thomas 
Campion  acted  in  a  "Comedy"  at  Gray's  Inn,  and  in 
the  following  month  several  members  of  the  Inn  com- 
posed The  Misfortunes  of  Arthur,  which  they  per- 
formed at  Greenwich  before  the  Queen.  The  authors 
of  this  Senecan  Tragedy  were  Francis  Bacon  (who 
acted  in  the  dumb  showes),  Christopher  Yelverton, 
Nicholas  Trott  (who  wrote  the  introduction)  and  five 
others.  My  own  opinion  is  that  Gray's  Inn  may  in 
truth  be  called  the  very  cradle  and  nursery  of  the  Eng- 
lish Drama. 

So  far  as  I  know,  Henry  Helmes  was  the  first  Lord 
of  Misrule  to  be  called  the  Prince  of  Purpoole.  In 
1617  when  Bacon  became  Lord  Chancellor  the  Second 
''Prince  of  Purpoole"  is  mentioned.  In  Minshue's 
Guide  to  the  Tongues  (2nd  Ed.  1625)  among  the  names 
of  the  subscribers  I  find  those  of:  "The  Lord  Baron 
Verulam,  Sir  Henry  Helmes,  one  of  the  gentlemen 
Pensioners  to  his  Majesty,"  and  also  one  "Henry  the 


XXIV 


Second,  Prince  of  Graya  and  Piirpoole,  etc."  No 
doubt  the  first  edition  of  Minshue  ( 1617)  contained  this 
list  also. 

The  following  named  gentlemen  were  admitted  to 
Gray's  Inn  through  the  courtesy  of  our  Henry  Helmes 
on  December  25,  1594: 

John  Cooke,  of  Westminster, 

Edward  Cooke,  of  Westminster, 

Philip  Wentworth,  of  Cotton,  Suffolk, 

Anthony  Fletcher,  of  Cockermouth,  Cumber- 
land, 

Thomas  Thomkins,  of  city  of  London, 

John  Lillie,'  of  city  of  London, 

Thomas  Smith,  of  Framlingham,  Suflfolk, 
Admitted  by  Henry,  Prince  of  Piirpoole. 

Forters  Regist.  Adm.  to  Gray's  Inn,  page  87. 

The  panegyric  given  in  the  Gesta  Grayoriim  to  our 
Prince  of  Piirpoole  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  his  virtues 
and  courtly  graces.  Truly  this  Gray's  Inn  youth  who 
could  fight  at  Barriers  with  the  Earls  of  Essex  and 
Cumberland,  and  win  the  prize  which  the  Queen  de- 
livered to  him  "with  her  own  hands,"  is  worthy  of  our 
admiration.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  he  was  re- 
lated to  the  Yelvertons.    Camden  in  his  Britannia  says: 

"Rougham  the  Seat  of  the  Yelvertons,  of  whom 
William  under  Hen.  6,  Christopher  under  Queen 
Elizabeth,  and  Henry  under  Charles  I." 

I  assume  Henry  Helmes  was  a  youth  of  large  means 
and  that  he  contributed  a  considerable  sum  toward  these 
Gray's  Inn  Sports, and  Revels. 

A  branch  of  the  Yelvertons  family  resided  in  Roug- 

iQuenj — The  poet? 


XXV 


ham,  Norfolk,  of  whom  William  Yelverton,  Esq.,  of 
Gray's  Inn  was  the  head.  Two  of  his  sons  were  mem- 
bers of  Gray's  Inn — William  admitted  October  17, 
1608,  and  Henry,  second  son,  admitted  February  2, 
161 1.     Foster's  Regist.  Adm.  Gray's  Inn. 

The  variant  for  Helmes  is  Holmes,  and  I  find  in 
Baynes'  History  of  Eastern  England  (Vol.  1 1,  page  55) 
the  following  connection  between  the  Holmes  and  Yel- 
vertons : 

THE  FAMILY  OF  THE  YELVERTONS 

The  first  of  this  family  that  began  to  purchase 
and  raise  an  estate  at  Yelverton  in  the  Hundred 
of  Henstead  was  William  Yelverton,  and  Mabel 
his  wife,  who  in  1398  purchased  lands  of  Rich- 
ard de  la  Rokele,  which  till  then  belonged  to 
Rokele's  manor  in  Trowse.  In  13 17  he  pur- 
chased more  lands  of  Roger  de  Walsham  and 
Thomas  de  Langhale.  About  1322  John  de  Yel- 
verton purchased  the  manor  of  Yelverton  and 
advowson  of  Sir  Oliver  Wythe.  In  1345  Robert 
de  Yelverton,  his  son,  held  it  of  the  said  Oliver, 
and  he  of  the  Norfolk  family.  In  1391  John  de 
Yelverton  and  wife  had  all  the  Yelverton  estates. 
In  1444  William  Yelverton,  justice  of  the  King's 
Bench,  owned  it,  and  in  1462  his  commission  was 
renewed,  and  again  in  1471.  In  1499  William 
Yelverton,  jun.,  had  the  estate  at  his  father's 
death.  He  died  intestate  in  1518,  and  James 
Holmes  administered  in  right  of  his  wife  Ann, 
sister  and  heir  of  the  deceased.  In  1551,  Ann 
Holmes,  their  daughter,  held  Yelverton  Hall, 
and  left  it  to  William  Holmes,  her  son  and  heir, 
and  it  was  afterwards  sold  to  the  family  of  the 
Rants,  who  flourished  for  some  time  in  this  part 
'       of  Norfolk. 

xxvi  .   . 


In  1589  Christopher  Yelverton  in  his  farewell  ad- 
dress to  the  members  of  Gray's  Inn  "speaks  of  his  an- 
cestors being  of  the  House  200  years  at  the  leaste." 

Douthwaite's  Gray's  Inn. 

Christopher  Yelverton  wrote  the  Epilogue  to  Gas- 
cogne's  Jocasta  and  aided  Bacon  and  others  in  The 
Misfortunes  of  Arthur.  The  Bacon's  and  Yelverton's 
married  with  the  family  of  the  Lords  Gray  of  Ruthen. 

The  Gesta  Grayorum  says: 

"For  the  present  her  Majesty  graced  every 
one;  particularly,  she  thanked  his  Highness  for 
the  good  performance  of  all  that  was  done,  and 
wished  that  their  sports  had  continued  longer, 
for  the  pleasure  she  took  therein,  which  may 
well  appear  from  her  answer  to  the  Courtiers, 
who  danced  a  measure  immediately  after  the 
mask  was  ended,  saying,  'What!  shall  we  have 
bread  and  cheese  after  a  banquet?' 

"Her  Majesty  willed  the  Lord  Chamberlain 
that  the  gentlemen  should  be  invited  on  the  next 
day,  and  that  he  should  present  them  unto  her. 
Which  was  done,  and  her  Majesty  gave  them 
her  hand  to  kiss,  with  most  gracious  words  of 
commendations  to  them  particularly,  and  in 
general  of  Gray's  Inn,  as  an  House  she  was  much 
beholden  unto,  for  that  it  did  always  study  for 
some  sorts  to  present  unto  her." 

"That  same  night  there  was  fighting  at  bar- 
riers, the  Earl  of  Essex  and  others  challengers, 
and  the  Earl  of  Cumberland  and  his  company 
defendants,  into  which  number  our  Prince  was 
taken,  and  behaved  himself  so  valiantly  and  skil- 
fully herein  that  he  had  the  prize  adjudged  due 

xxvii 


unto  him,  which  it  pleased  her  Majesty  to  de- 
liver him  with  her  own  hands,  telling  him, 
'That  it  was  not  her  gift;  for  if  it  had,  it  should 
have  been  better;  but  she  gave  it  him  as  that 
prize  which  was  due  to  his  desert  and  good  be- 
havior in  those  exercises,  and  that  hereafter  he 
should  be  remembered  with  a  better  reward  from 
herself.'  The  price  was  a  jewel  set  with  seven- 
teen diamonds  and  four  rubies,  in  value  ac- 
counted worth  an  hundred  marks." 

But  Elizabeth's  "better  reward''  did  not  materialize 
as  usual. 

Nine  years  later  our  charming  Prince  of  Piirpoole, 
Sir  Henry  Helmes  of  Norfolk,  was  knighted  by  King 
James  I,  July  23rd,  1603,  at  Whitehall. 

Nichols  James  I,  Vol.  I,  p.  216. 

Our  Prince  of  Purpoole  on  the  ist  of  February  rode 
through  the  main  streets  of  London  with  one  hundred 
of  his  Knights  "very  gallantly  appointed,"  the  most  on 
"great  horses''  and  the  rest  on  very  "choice  geldings." 
In  front  of  St.  Paul's  School  the  Prince  was  enter- 
tained with  the  following  oration  made  by  one  of  the 
boy  scholars  and  delivered  in  Latin. ^  A  translation  is 
here  given: 

"It  may  perhaps  be  out  of  place,  most  Re- 
nowned Prince  of  Port  pool  e,  before  so  great  a 
majesty  of  yours  to  hold  a  discourse  at  so  unsea- 
sonable a  time,  for  I  barely  dare  to  hope  that 
you,  who  bear  so  great  a  personage,  and  your 
retinue  of  courtiers,  after  great  victories  gained 
on  land  and  sea,  should  halt  for  a  boy's  utter- 
ance right  in  a  celebration  of  the  most  elaborate 
triumph.    But  through  the  condescension  always 

iGesta  Grayornm,  p.  T-\. 


xxvin 


extolled  in  the  greatest  prince,  may  I  be  per- 
mitted to  offer  to  your  Highness  passing  by  the 
loyalty  of  our  Learning  and  this  congratulation 
of  mine,  such  as  it  is,  after  your  return  from 
Russia  as  famous  and  triumphant  and  spread 
through  all  the  world  to  have  it  attested  in  this 
discourse  of  mine  for  all  the  nobles.  For  al- 
though my  discourse  escapes  me  suddenly  and 
is  dazed  as  it  were  before  so  great  a  majesty — 
still  a  more  earnest  congratulation  and  one  more 
replete  with  dutiful  affection  for  noble  virtues, 
cannot  certainly  be  advanced. 

Do  you  not  see  that  the  community  itself,  dis- 
lodged as  it  were  from  its  abodes,  is  advancing 
to  congratulate  so  great  a  prince?  What  do  you 
think  this  entire  assembly  is  entertaining  in 
thought?  On  whose  features  and  mien  do  you 
think  the  eyes  of  all  are  directed?  What  feelings 
of  our  friends  do  you  reciprocate?  What  do 
we  desire?  What  do  we  wish?  What  do  we  do? 
Is  it  not  to  express  our  wishes  as  much  as  con- 
gratulate you  on  your  victories?  What  wonder, 
then,  if  a  school,  even  our  own,  emulous  of  noble 
virtues,  is  eager  to  pay  tribute  to  most  renowned 
victories  and  triumphs? 

Continue,  therefore,  and  continue  with  the  best 
auspices,  most  famous  Prince,  return  to  your 
palace  of  Piirtpoole.  The  Oracle  of  the  Gray's, 
in  which  as  by  the  prophetic  voice  of  the  Del- 
phian Apollo  all  differences  are  settled. 

As  to  invading  the  Spaniard,  common  foe 
of  all  princes,  do  you  deliberate.  How  easily 
will  your  sword  now  dripping  with  the  blood  of 
the  Tartans  especially,  if  you  should  take  the 
Templars,  associated  with  you  by  ancient  treaty, 
into  the  alliance  of  a  new  war  (how  easily)  will 
your  sword  thrust  back  the  drawn  swords  of  all 


XXIX 


others  and  dash  away  their  shields?  Let  the 
Spaniards  burst  with  envy  as  the  sides  of  Cedrus 
(an  illusion  to  VirgiTs  Ecoloques  VII  26). 
Aleanwhile  indeed  our  Muses  will  both  applaud 
your  past  victories  and  will  entreat  the  ancient 
Pallas  of  the  Grays,  that  she  may  put  her  own 
helmet  on  the  now  a  second  Agamemnon  who 
has  many  Achilles  and  Ulysses  as  your  compan- 
ions, and  protect  you  with  her  shield  and  ban- 
ner, and  after  routing  and  defeating  all  your 
foes  preserve  you  forever." 

There  was  in  this  Order  of  the  Helmet  an  inten- 
tionally symbolic  meaning,  not  yet  fully  solved.  Al- 
though the  ancient  Pallas  of  the  Gray's  had  put  her 
own  Helmet  on  the  Prince  and  his  Knights,  the  wisdom 
gained  thereby  did  not  make  them  eschew  the  charms 
of  beauty,  as  the  following  words  prove.^ 

*/As  I  am  rightful  Prince,  and  true  Sovereign 
of  the  honourable  Order  of  the  Helmet,  and  by 
all  those  Ladies  whom,  in  Knightly  honour  I 
love  and  serve,  I  will  make  the  name  of 
a  Grayan  Knight  more  dreadful  to  the  Barbarian 
Tartars,  than  the  Macedonian  to  the  wearied 
Persians,  the  Romans  to  the  dispersed  Britain's, 
or  the  Castalian  to  the  w^eakened  Indians.  Gen- 
tle Ladies,  be  now  benign  and  gracious  to  your 
Knights,  that  never  pleased  themselves  but 
when  their  service  pleased  you;  that  for  your 
sakes  shall  undertake  hard  adventures,  that  will 
make  your  names  and  beauties  most  famous, 
even  in  foreign  regions.  Let  your  favour  kindle 
the  vigour  of  their  spirits,  wherewith  they 
abound ;  for  they  are  the  men  by  whom  your 
fame,  your  honour,  your  virtue,  shall  be  for  ever 
advanced,  protected  and  admired." 

iGesta  Grayorum.  p.  68. 


XXX 


We  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  Ladies  whom  the 
Prince  of  Furpoole  so  honored,  loved,  and  served,  were 
the  women  of  Shakespeare. 

The  women  of  Elizabeth's  Court  inspired  the  Poet 
who  immortalized  them  under  the  names  of  Portia, 
Julief,  Rosalind,  Ophelia,  Cordelia,  Isabel,  Silvia,  etc. 
Not  in  Stratford,  not  in  Silver  or  Monkwell  Streets  did 
he  find  his  heroines,  but  at  the  Court,  the  Inns  of  Court, 
and  in  the  Houses  of  the  great  men  of  his  time.  These 
fair  women  were  clothed  with  the  "seemly  beauty"  of 
the  poet's  own  heart  and  brain.  At  Gray's  Inn  Shake- 
speare had  seen  how 

"His  Highness  called  for  the  Master  of  the 
Revels,  and  willed  him  to  pass  the  time  in  danc- 
ing: So  his  gentlemen — pensioners  and  attend- 
ants, very  gallantly  appointed,  in  thirty  couples, 
danced  the  old  measures,  and  their  galliards,  and 
other  kinds  of  dances,  revelling  until  it  was  very 
late;  and  so  spent  the  rest  of  their  performance 
in  those  exercises." 
In  the  Ladies  Masque  in  Timon,  Act  I,  See.  2,  we 
are  reminded  of  the  Gesta  Grayorum. 

^^The  Lords  rise  from  Table,  with  much  ador- 
ing of  TIMON;  and,  to  show  their  loves,  each 
singles  out  an  Amazon,  and  all  dance.  Men  with 
Women,  a  lofty  Strain  or  two  to  the  Hautboys, 
and  cease." 

Tim.  You  have  done  our  pleasures  much 
grace,  fair  ladies. 

Set  a  fair  fashion  on  our  entertainment. 
Which  was  not  half  so  beautiful  and  kind: 
You  have  added  worth  unto't,  and  lustre, 
And  entertain'd  me  with  mine  own  device; 
I  am  to  thank  you  for  it. 


XXXI 


I  Lady.  My  lord,  you  take  us  ever  at  the 
best.   .    .    . 

Tim.  Ladies,  there  is  an  idle  banquet  Attends 
you:  please  you  to  dispose  yourselves. 

All  Lad.     Most  thankfully,  my  lord. 

The  Prince  of  Purpoole  advised  the  Knights  of  the 
Helmet  to  read  the  modern  writers,  and  to  visit  the 
Theatre: 

^'Item,  every  Knight  of 'this  Order  shall  en- 
deavour to  add  conference  and  exrience  (sic) 
by  reading;  and  therefore  shall  not  only  read 
and  peruse  Guizo,  the  French  Academy ,  Galiat- 
to  the  Courtier,  Plutarch,  the  Arcadia,  and  the 
Noeterical  Writers,  from  time  to  time;  but  also 
frequent  the  Theatre,  and  such  like  places  of  ex- 
perience; and  resort  to  the  better  sort  of  ordi- 
naries for  conference;  whereby  they  may  not 
only  become  accomplished  with  civil  conver- 
sations, and  able  to  govern  a  table  with  dis- 
course; but  also  sufficient,  if  need  be,  to  make 
epigrams,  emblems,  and  other  devices,  apper- 
taining to  his  Honour's  learned  revels.''^ 

Guizo  (Stufano)  the  first  writer  mentioned  above 
published  his  La  CAvil  Conversatione,  etc.,  in  1574.  In 
1586  the  first  English  translation  appeared  under  the 
following  title: 

"The  Civile  Conversation  divided  into  foure 
bookes,  the  first  three  translated  out  of  French 
by  G.  Pettie,  in  the  first  is  contained  in  generall 
the  fruits  that  may  be  reaped  by  Conversation, 
and  teaching  how  to  know  good  companie  from 
ill,  in  the  second  the  manner  of  conversation, 
meete  for  all  persons  ...  in  the  third  is  per- 
ticularlie  set  forth  the  orders  to  be  observed  in 

^Gesta  Grayoniiii.  p.  39. 


xxxn 


Conversation  within  doores  ...  in  the  fourth 
is  set  downe  the  forme  of  Civile  Conversations, 
by  an  example  of  a  Banquet,  made  in  Cassale, 
betweene  sixe  Lords  and  foure  Ladies,  and  now 
translated  out  of  Italian  into  English  by  Barth. 
Young  of  the  Middle  Temple. 

Imprinted  at  London  by  Thomas  East,  1586. 

It  is  said  Shakespeare  was  familiar  with  this  work. 

The  French  Academy  by  Primaudaye,  is  referred  to 
by  Hunter  in  his  Notes  on  Hamlet  and  ''The  Merchant 
of  Venice."  This  book  was  also  translated  into  Eng- 
lish in  1586,  as  follows: 

The  French  Academic  Fully  Discoursed  and 
finished  in  foure  Bookes.  Newly  translated  into 
English  by  T.  B. 

Imprinted  at  London,  by  Edmund  Bollivant, 

1586. 

The  third  book,  The  Courtier,  was  translated  into 
English  in  1566  by  Bacon's  uncle.  Sir  Thomas  Hoby. 

The  Arcadia  may  have  been  Sir  Philip  Sidney's 
work,  or  by  Sanazarus. 

The  following  compliment  is  then  paid  to  the  Queen 
by  the  Prince  of  Purpoole  : 

"Lastly,  all  the  Knights  of  this  honourable 
Order,  and  the  renowned  Sovereign  of  the  same, 
shall  yield  all  homage,  loyalty,  unaffected  admi- 
ration, and  all  humble  service,  of  what  name  or 
condition  soever,  to  the  incomparable  Empress 
of  the  Fortunate  Island."^ 

The  names  of  the  succeeding  gentlemen  who  acted 
in  the  Gesta  Gray  arum,  were  Francis  Bacon's  kinsmen, 

iGesta  Groyorum,  p.  41. 

xxxiii 


or  related  b}^  marriage  to  his  family.  Fitzwilliam,. 
Cooke,  Kempe,  Cecil,  Drewry,  Davison,  Wentworth, 
Dandye,  Moseley. 

William  Cooke,  the  Captain  of  the  Gentlemen  Pen- 
sioners, was  Bacon's  cousin,  and  married  the  daughter 
of  Sir  Thomas  Lucy  of  Charlecote  in  1 594  ( See  Bacon's 
letter  to  Sir  Thomas  Lucy,  p.  60).  This  letter  was 
written  after  Coke  became  Attorney  General,  10  April 
1594.  The  writer  believes  that  the  youth,  Francis 
Bacon,  when  visiting  his  kinsmen,  the  Cookes,  at  Harts- 
hill,  in  the  Forest  of  Arden,  met  William  Shakespeare 
somewhere  in  the  forest. 

Rowe,  his  first  biographer,  tells  us: 

"He  had,  by  a  misfortune  common  enough  to 
young  fellows,  fallen  into  ill  company,  and 
amongst  them  some  that  made  a  frequent  practice 
of  deer-stealing,  engaged  him  more  than  once  in 
robbing  a  park  that  belonged  to  Sir  Thomas 
Lucy,  of  Charlecote,  near  Stratford.  For  this 
he  was  prosecuted  by  that  gentleman,  as  he 
thought,  somewhat  too  severely;  and,  in  order 
to  revenge  that  ill  usage,  he  made  a  ballad  upon 
him.  This,  probably,  the  first  essay  of  his  poetry, 
is  said  to  have  been  so  very  bitter,  that  it  re- 
doubled the  prosecution  against  him  to  that  de- 
gree, that  he  was  obliged  to  leave  his  business 
and  family  in  Warwickshire,  for  some  time,  and 
shelter  himself  in  London." 

Let  Shakespeare  lead  us  into  the  Forest  of  Arden,, 
where  Bacon  must  have  often  wandered  in  his  youth, 
and,  like  Jaques,  mused  in  a  "most  humorous  sadness.'^ 

xxxiv 


AS  YOU  LIKE  IT  [ACT  IV,  See.  II) 

Another  part  of  the  Forest. 

Enter  Jacques  and  Lords,  in  the  habit  of  For- 
esters. 

Jaq.     Which  is  he  that  killed  the  deer? 
First  Lord.     Sir,  it  was  I. 

Jaq.  Let's  present  him  to  the  duke,  like  a 
Roman  conqueror;  and  it  would  do  well 
to  set  the  deer's  horns  upon  his  head,  for 
a  branch  of  victory: — Have  you  no  song, 
forester,  for  this  purpose? 
Second  Lord.     Yes,  sir. 

Jaq.     Sing  it;  't  is  no  matter  how  it  be  in  tune, 
so  it  make  noise  enough. 

SONG. 

T.     What  shall  he  have  that  kill'd  the  deer? 

2.     His  leather  skin,  and  horns  to  wear. 

Take  thou  no  scorn,  to  wear  the  horn. 
It  was  a  crest  ere  thou  wast  born. 

1.  Thy  father's  father  wore  it; 

2.  And  thy  father  bore  it; 

All.      The  horn,  the  horn,  the  lusty  horn. 
Is  not  a  thing  to  laugh  to  scorn. 

The  Gesta  Grayorum  does  not  mention  Shakespeare's 
name,  but  there  is  perhaps  a  parody  on  it  in  a  letter 
dated  January  5,  1594-5  :^ 

A  Letter  of  Advertisement  from  Knights- 
bridge,  to  the  Honourable  Council : 

"I  beseech  your  Honours  to  advertise  his 
Highness,  that  in  his  Excellency's  Canton  of 
Knightsbridge  there  do  haunt  certain  foreign- 
ers, that  seize  upon  all  passengers,  taking  from 
them  by  force  their  goods,  under  pretence,  that, 

lOosta  Grayorum,  p.  63. 

XXXV 


being  merchant  strangers,  and  using  traffic  into 
his  Highnesses  territories  of  Clerkenwell,  Isling- 
ton, and  elsewhere,  they  have  been  robbed  of 
their  goods,  spoiled  of  their  wares ;  whereby  they 
were  utterly  undone :  and  that  his  Honour,  of  his 
good  will,  hath  been  pleased  to  grant  them  Let- 
ters of  Reprisal,  to  recover  their  loss  of  them  that 
come  next  to  their  hands:  by  colour  whereof, 
they  lay  hold  of  all  that  pass  by,  without  respect. 
Some  of  their  names,  as  I  understand,  are, 
Johannes  Shagbag,  Robertus  Untruss,  James 
Rapax,  alias  Capax." 

Johannes  Shagbag  reminds  one  of  "Johannes"  and 
"Shakescene."  Were  he  present  on  these  Grand  Nights, 
he  must  have  enjoyed  the  reference  to  deer  hunting  "in 
other  men's  Parks."  Although  the  Prince  of  Purpoole 
pardoned  nearly  every  offence  under  the  sun  he  ex- 
cepted deer  stealing  as  follows : 

"Except,  all  such  persons  as  shall  hunt  in  the 
night,  or  pursue  any  bucks  or  does;  or  with 
painted  faces,  vizards,  or  other  disguisings,  in  the 
day-time;  or  any  such  as  do  wrongfully  and  un- 
lawfully, without  consent  or  leave  given  or 
granted,  by  day  or  night,  break  or  enter  into  any 
park  impailed,  or  other  several  close,  incloseure, 
chace,  or  purliew,  inclosed  or  compassed  with 
wall,  pale,  grove,  hedge,  or  bushes,  used  still 
and  occupied  for  the  keeping,  breeding,  or  cher- 
ishing of  young  deer,  prickets,  or  any  other 
game,  fit  to  be  preserved  and  nourished;  or  such 
as  do  hunt,  chase,  or  drive  out  any  such  deer,  to 
the  prejudice  and  decay  of  such  game  and  pass- 
times  within  our  dominions." 

"Except,  all  such  persons  as  shall  shoot  in  any 
hand  gun,  demyhag,  or  hag  butt,  either  half- 

XXXV! 


shot,  or  bullet,  any  fowl,  bird,  or  beast;  either  at 
any  deer,  red  or  fallow,  or  any  other  thing  or 
things,  except  it  be  a  butt  set,  laid,  or  raised  in 
some  convenient  place,  fit  for  the  same  purpose." 
"Except,  all  and  every  artificer,  crafts-man, 
labourer,  householder,  or  servant,  being  a  lay- 
man, which  hath  not  lands  to  the  yearly  value 
of  forty  shillings;  or  any  clerk,  not  admitted  or 
advanced  to  the  benefice  of  the  value  of  ten 
pounds  per  annum,  that  with  any  grey-hound, 
mongrel,  mastiff,  spaniel,  or  other  dogs,  doth 
hunt  in  other  men's  parks,  warrens,  and  coney- 
grees;  or  use  any  ferrets,  hare-pipes,  snarles, 
ginns,  or  other  knacks  or  devises,  to  take  or  de- 
stroy does,  hares,  or  coneys,  or  other  gentlemen's 
game,  contrary  to  the  form  and  meaning  of  a 
statute  in  that  case  provided." 

The  few  known  facts  of  Shakespeare's  personal  his- 
tory, have  led  his  biographers  to  whole  folios  of  con- 
jecture. He  lived  in  umbra  and  is  the  greatest  wonder, 
and  the  most  mysterious  "Figure"  *  in  all  literature. 
The  great  historical  dramas,  and  delightful  comedies 
came  out  anonymously  and  were  the  admiration  of  the 
most  eminent  poets  of  his  own  day,  many  of  whom 
lauded  the  author  with  unstinted  praise,  but  not  under 
his  own  name. 

Edmund  Spencer  calls  hmi  Action — an  Eagle — 1591. 
Thomas  Nashe,  fired  with  enthusiasm  over  his  Henry 
the  VI,  in  1592  writes: 

"How  would  it  have  joyed  brave  Talbot  (the 
terror  of  the  French)  to  think  that  after  he  had 
lyne  two  hundred  yeares  in  his  Tombe,  he  should 

*"This  Figure  that  thou  here  seest  put." 

xxxvii 


triumphe  againe  on  the  Stage,  and  have  his  bones 
newe  embalmed  with  the  teares  of.  ten  thousand 
Spectators  at  least,  (at  several  times)  who  in 
the  Tragedian  that  represents  his  person,  im- 
agine they  behold  him  fresh  bleeding." 

In  this  same  "Pierce  Pennilesse''  1592,  Nashe  also 
praises  Edward  Alleyn: 

"Not  Roscius  nor  Esope,  those  tragedians  ad- 
mired before  Christ  was  borne,  could  ever  per- 
forme  more  in  action  than  famous  Ned  Allen." 

This  leads  me  to  think  Alleyn  was  the  Tragedian  who 
played  Talbot,  so  to  the  life.  "Pierce  Pennilesse"  may 
have  been  read  by  Robert  Green  before  it  was  printed, 
and  this  high  praise  by  Nashe  added  fuel  to  the  bitter 
envy  felt  by  Greene  against  the  genius  of  Shakespeare, 
to  whom  he  alludes  in  his  "Grotes  worth  of  Wit,"  1592, 
under  the  name  of  Shakescene/'  i.  e.,  a  property  man 
about  the  stage.  Chettle  is  supposed  to  allude  to  Shake- 
speare in  his  "Kinde-Hearts  Dream"  December,  1592, 
as  follows: 

"Myselfe  hath  scene  his  demeanor  no  less 
civill  than  he  excellent  in  the  qualitie  he  pro- 
fesses; besides  divers  of  worship  have  reported, 
his  uprightness  of  dealing,  which  argues  his  hon- 
esty, and  his  facetious  grace  in  writing,  that  ap- 
proves his  Art." 

All  this  is  written  about  an  unnamed  author.  Chettle 
had  not  seen  his  writing,  but  "divers  of  worship"  had 
"reported"  all  this  and  Chettle  bowed  to  their  authority. 
Chettle  had  only  seen  his  "demeanor." 

It  is  because  it  is  so  rare,  that  we  treasure  every  crumb 
of  evidence  that  falls  from  the  pens  of  Shakespeare's 


XXXVIII 


contemporaries.  Whoever  the  unnamed  author  was,  he 
was  backed  or  supported  by  "divers  of  worship"  as 
•early  as  1592. 

Therefore  when  the  Comedy  of  Errors  was  per- 
formed at  Gray's  Inne,  the  author's  name  was  not  men- 
tioned. His  name  first  appeared  on  a  play,  Love's 
Labors  Lost,  in  1598.  My  opinion  is  that  the  Comedy 
of  Errors  was  especially  written  for  its  production  at 
Gray's  Inn  on  December  28,  1594. 

Meres  mentions  it  for  the  first  time  in  1598  in  Pal- 
ladis  Tamia,  where  he  merely  calls  it  ''Errors."  It  was 
first  printed  in  the  Folio  of  1623.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  the  night  on  which  the  Comedy  of  Errors 
was  played  by  "a  Company  of  base  and  common  fel- 
lowes"  "was  ever  after  called  the  night  of  Errors"  by 
the  members  of  Gray's  Inn. 

In  his  Essay  on  Friendship,  Bacon  says: — "If  a  man 
hath  not  a  friend  he  may  quit  the  stage,"  and  I  firmly 
believe  when  the  friendless  young  Shakespeare  fled 
from  Stratford  to  London,  Bacon  took  him  under  his 
wing  and  sheltered  him.  Without  this  shelter  he  would 
have  been  classed  as  a  vagabond  or  a  masterless  man. 
It  is  a  coincidence  that  the  first  record  we  have  of  his 
connection  with  players  is  with  the  Lord  Chamber- 
laines  servants,  on  the  very  date  on  which  the  Comedy 
of  Errors  urns  performed  at  Gray's  Inn,  and  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

"To  William  Kempe,  William  Shakespeare 
and  Richard  Burbage,  servants  to  the  Lord 
Chamberleyne,  upon  the  Councelles  warrant 
dated  at  Whitehall  xv.  to  Marcij,  1594,  for  twoe 
severall  comedies  or  enterludes  shewed  by  them 


XXXIX 


before  her  Majestic  in  Christmas  tyme  laste 
paste,  viz.,  upon  St.  Stephen's  daye  and  Inno- 
centes  daye,  xiijli.  vjs.  viijd.,  and  by  waye  of  her 
Majesties  rewarde,  vjli.  xiijs.  iiijd.,  in  all  xxli." 

This  was  recorded  in  the  accounts  of  the  treasurer  of 
the  Chamber  and  printed  by  Hal/wiU  Phillipps  in  the 
6th  Ed.  of  his  Outlines  i,  109.       ' 

The  Comedy  of  Errors  was  performed  at  Gray's  Inn 
on  "Innocents  Day  at  Night,"  December  28,  1 594.  And 
from  this  date  Shakespeare  wore  the  livery  of  the  Lord 
Chamberlain's  men. 

Sir  Henry  Carey,  the  first  Lord  Hunsdon,  Lord 
Chamberlain  to  the  Queen,  was  Elizabeth's  first  cousin. 
It  was  by  his  courtesy  the  actors  were  permitted  to  play 
the  ''Comedy  of  Errors"  in  Gray's  Inn  Hall. 

Two  years  after  this,  in  1596,  it  is  thought  Bacon 
wrote  the  following  letter  from  Gray's  Inn  to  the  Earl 
of  Shrewesbury: 


u 


It  may  please  your  good  Lordship, 
I  am  sorry  the  joint  masque  from  the  four  Inns 
of  Court  faileth;  wherein  I  conceive  there  is  no 
other  ground  of  that  event  but  impossibility. 
Nevertheless,  because  it  faileth  aut  that  at  this 
time  Grey's  Inn  is  well  furnished  of  gallant 
young  gentlemen,  your  lordship  may  be  pleased 
to  know,  that  rather  than  this  occasion  shall  pass 
without  some  demonstration  of  afifection  from 
the  Inns  of  Court,  there  are  a  dozen  gentlemen 
of  Grey's  Inn,  that  out  of  the  honour  which 
they  bear  to  your  Lordship  and  my  Lord  Cham- 
berlain to  whom  at  their  last  masque  they  were 
so  much  bounden,  will  be  ready  to  furnish  a 
masque;  wishing  it  were  in  their  powers  to  per- 

xl 


form  it  according  to  their  minds.     And  so  for 
the  present  I  humbly  take  my  leave,  resting 

Your  Lordship's  very  humble  and  much  boun - 
den, 

FR.  BACON." 

I  conjecture  that  "their  last  masque"  referred  to  in 
this  letter  was  a  part  of  the  Gesta  Grayorum,  and  the 
letter  shows  Bacon's  appreciation  of  the  Lord  Cham- 
berlain's courtesy  in  allowing  his  servants  to  perform 
a  Comedy  of  Errors. 

Spedding  comments  on  this  letter  as  follows : 
"The  next  is  the  original  found  among  the 
Burghley  papers  in  the  Landsdown  collection, 
and  was  probably  addressed  to  the  first  Lord 
Burghley  though  the  address  has  disappeared 
with  the  flyleaf,  and  the  docket  does  not  supply 
it.  If  so,  it  must  have  been  written  before  the 
autumn  of  1598,  but  it  seems  impossible  to  de- 
termine on  what  occasion.  I  do  not  remember 
to  have  met  with  any  report  of  a  projected 
masque  by  the  four  Inns  of  Court  united.  But 
I  find  that  on  the  15th  of  October,  1596,  Bacon 
wrote  to  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury  from  Grey's 
Inn,  "to  borrow  a  horse  and  armour  for  some 
public  shew";  and  this  may  possibly  have  refer-  ' 
ence  to  the  same.  Occasions  of  the  kind  oc- 
curred frequently,  and  though  small  things  some- 
times serve  to  illustrate  things  of  importance,  it 
is  not  very  likely  that  anything  would  be  gained  ' 
by  ascertaining  the  particulars  of  the  "demon-  • 
stration  of  affection"  here  proposed.  ■ 

'Letters  and  Life  of  Bacon'  Vol  11,  p.  370." 

"Small  things"  do  indeed  "sometimes  serve  to  illus- 
trate things  of  importance."    Were  it  not  for  the  Gesta 

xli 


Grayorurn,  which  was  sold  for  a  shilling  on  its  publi- 
cation in  1688,  we  would  never  have  known  that  Shake- 
speare's Comedy  of  Errors  was  "played  by  the  players" 
in  Gray's  Inn,  December  28,  1594. 

It  may  be  that  some  day  we  will  discover  where 
Canning,  the  printer  of  the  Gesta  Grayorurn,  found  the 
original  manuscript. 

My  esteeemd  friend,  the  late  Bertram  Dobell,  Poet 
and  Bibliographer,  wrote  me,  March  30,  191 1  : 

"Some  day,  I  feel  sure, — or  tolerably  sure — a 
copy  of  the  Sonnets  in  the  author's  handwriting 
will  turn  up  ^  *  *  I  have  myself  discov- 
ered so  many  remarkable  things  in  manuscripts 
that  I  don't  even  despair  of  crowning  my  dis- 
coveries by  finding  this."* 

In  writing  about  Shakespeare,  conjecture  is  bound 
to  force  itself  upon  the  writer;  like  Banquo's  ghost,  it 
will  not  down.  Therefore  if  Bacon  became  an  en- 
couraging friend  to  the  youth  from  Stratford,  we  can 
readily  understand  Shakespeare's  rapid  advancement, 

*The  mention  of  Bertram  Dobell's  name  recalls  to  mind  these 
lines  from  one  of  his  sonnets  in  A  Lover  s  Moods  sent  me  by  their 
author  in  March,  1914: 

"To  prove  myself  true  poet  and  true  lover 
Has  been  my  life's  devoutly  cherished  aim, 
But  all  in  vain  love's  secret  to  discover 

I  sought,  nor  dared  the  laurel  wreath  to  claim : 
Now,  let  the  world  deny  it,  or  bestow 

On  me  the  guerdon  of  a  poet's  fame, 
I  care  not,  for  at  last  love's  power  I  know, 
And  poet  am  since  lover  I  became." 
His  son,  Percy  John  Dobell  in  his  tender  Memoir  of  his  father, 
states  that  "the  proof  sheets  of  this  book  were  corrected  and  returned., 
but  my  father  did   not  live   to   see  a  completed   copy."     The  poet 
passed  into  the  silent  land  December  14,  1915- 

xlii 


which  caused  Greene  to  call  him  an  ''upstart  crow." 
Bacon's  influence  was  sufficient  to  place  Shakespeare 
among  the  Lord  Chamberlain's  men,  who  were  the 
leading  company  and  allowed  to  play  before  the  Queen 
and  at  Court.  The  fact  is  that  Shakespeare's  plays  were 
written  exclusively  for  the  Court,  and  his  plays  were 

controlled  entirely  by  the  Lord  Chamberlain  and  his 
deputy,  Edmund  Tilney,  the  Master  of  the  Revels.  Sir 
George  Buc  had  acted  as  Tilney's  deputy  for  sometime 
before  the  latter's  death.  Chalmers  in  his  Supple- 
mental Apology,  p.  200,  says: 

"The  following  plays  licensed  by  Sir  George 
Bucke,  as  appeared  by  the  Stationers  Registers: 
26  November  (1607)  Mr.  William  Shakspere 
his  Historic  of  Kinge  Leare;  as  it  was  played 
before  the  King's  Majestic  at  Whitehall  upon  St. 
Stephens  night  at  Christmas  last,  by  his  Majes- 
ties Servants,  playing  usually  at  the  Globe  on  the 
Bankside. 

And  20  May  1607-8,  "The  Booke  of  Pericles 
Prynce  of  Tyre 

3  June,  Anthony  and  Cleopatra 

6  Oct.  1621,  The  Tragedie  of  Othello.' 

Sir  George  Buc  was  a  friend  of  Camden's,  who  in 
his  Britannia  says: 

"That  person  of  excellent  learning,  Sir  George 
Buc  Knight,  Master  of  the  Revels,  who  (for  I 
love  to  own  my  Benefactor's)  has  remarked 
many  things  in  our  Histories,  and  courteously 
communicated  his  observations." 

Buc  was  very  learned  and  a  member  of  the  Middle 
Temple.    The  Master  of  the  Revels,  Edmund  Tilney, 

xliii 


')^ 


in  1610,  was  succeeded  by  Sir  George  Buc,  who  was 
his  nephew,  and  when  Buc  resigned  in  1622,  Sir  Henry- 
Herbert  (a  Kinsman  of  the  two  incomparable  brothers 
to  whom  the  first  Folio  was  dedicated  in  1623)  became 
the  Master  of  the  Revels  and  retained  the  office  for 
fifty  years.  All  the  noblemen  and  gentlemen  named  in 
connection  with  Shakespeare's  plays  were  friends 
(some  of  them  Kinsmen)  to  Francis  Bacon. 

The  Tilney's,  Buc's,  and  Bacon's,  married  into  the 
Buer  family.  Philip  Herbert,  Earl  of  Montgomery 
and  Pembroke,  to  whom  jointly  with  his  brother,  the 
first  Folio  was  dedicated,  married  Bacon's  cousin,  Susan 
Vere,  daughter  of  the  17th  Earl  of  Oxford,  in  1605. 
This  gentlewoman's  mother  was  Bacon's  first  cousin, 
Anne  Cecil,  the  daughter  of  his  Aunt  Mildred,  wife  of 
William  Cecil,  the  great  Lord  Burleigh,  who  was 
Elizabeth's  Lord  Treasurer  for  forty  years. 

It  does  not  seem  to  me  rash  to  say  that  I  believe  the 
Shakespeare  dramas  were  guarded  by  three  of  the  great- 
est families  in  England — the  Stanley's,  the  Carey's,  and 
the  Herbert's.  Henry  Carey,  first  Lord  Hunsdon,  Lord 
Chamberlain,  and  his  son  George,  second  Lord  Huns- 
don, also  Lord  Chamberlain,  first  controlled  them. 
Bacon's  first  cousin,  Sir  Edward  Hoby,  married  Mar- 
gret,  daughter  of  Henry  Carey,  first  Lord  Hunsdon. 
Sir  Edward  Hoby  was  the  son  of  Bacon's  Aunt  Eliza- 
beth, who  on  the  death  of  her  first  husband,  Sir  Thomas 
Hoby,  married  John  Lord  Russell,  son  of  the  Earl  of 
Bedford. 

I  found  in  a  MS.  copy  of  the  Bisham  Register  this 
entry : 

xliv 


"The  Right  Honorable  Lord  John  Russell  and 
Renowned  Lady  Elizabeth  Hobbey,  23  Dec. 
1574"  were  married. 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  Thomas  Russell,  Esq., 
whom  Shakespeare  makes  one  of  the  overseers  to  his 
will,  was  related  to  John  Lord  Russell,  the  second 
husband  of  Bacon's  Aunt  Elizabeth.  Lady  Russell, 
whom  the  poet  Lodge  called  the  ''English  Sapho"  when 
in  1596  he  dedicated  to  her  A  Margarite  of  America, 
like  all  Sir  Anthony  Cook's  daughters,  was  greatly 
accomplished  in  letters.  She  lived  in  a  fine  residence 
in  the  Blackfriars  near  Shakespeare's  property.  Queen 
Elizabeth  was  there  present  on  the  marriage  of  her 
daughter  Anne  to  Lord  Herbert,  the  Earl  of  Worces- 
ter's son,  in  1600. 

In  1593  Lodge  wrote  his  Margarite  of  America. 

The  Hoby  family  were  his  intimate  friends.  Wood 
says,  "Lodge  was  a  servitor  or  scholar  under  the  learned 
Mr.  Edward  Hobye  of  Trinity  College."  He  was  at 
College  with  the  sons  of  Lord  Hunsdon  also,  by  whom 
he  was  esteemed.  His  sweetness  of  temper  may  be 
judged  when  Shakespeare  appropriated  the  plot  of  his 
Rosalynde  for  As  You  Like  It.  Lodge  never  railed 
against  it  or  envied  him  as  his  associate  Greene  did.  In 
1589  Lodge  and  Greene  had  worked  together  on  a  play. 

If,  as  I  am  convinced.  Bacon  shielded  Shakespeare, 
Lodge,  who  was  on  the  closest  terms  of  friendship  with 
Bacon's  relations,  the  Hobey's,  the  Russell's,  the  Stan- 
ley's, and  the  Carey's,  there  is  good  reason  why  he  did 
not  complain  when  Shakespeare  purloined  his  plot  of 
Rosalynde  entire.     Although  he  did  not  publicly  ac- 

xlv 


cuse  Shakespeare  for  using  his  plot,  he  omits  his  name 
when  (in  his  Wit's  Miserie  and  the  World's  Madness) 
he  writes  of  the  divine  wits  and  poets  of  his  day,  as 
follows : 

"Lilly,  the  famous  for  facility  in  discourse; 
Spencer,  best  read  in  ancient  poetry;  Daniel, 
choice  in  word  and  invention;  Draiton,  diligent 
and  formall;  Th.  Nash,  true  English;  Aretine." 

Perhaps  Lodge  took  some  little  pleasure  in  alluding 
to  Shakespeare's  voice  in  his  Wit's  Miserie  and  the 
World's  Madnesse,  1596,  where  he  refers  to  Hamlet  as 
follows :  "The  visard  of  ye  ghost  which  cried  so  miser- 
ably at  ye  Theator,  like  an  aister  wife,  'Hamlet,  re- 
venge' ". 

Nicholas  Rowe,  who  wrote  the  first  Life  of  Shake- 
speare, tells  us,  although  he  searched  diligently  to  as- 
certain what  were  the  characters  Shakespeare  acted 
on  the  stage,  he  could  only  learn  that  he  had  '^acted  the 
ghost  in  his  oivn  Hamlet."  We  know  Shakespeare  was 
not  a  great  actor  like  Richard  Burbage  or  Edward 
Alleyn.  Surely  Lodge  was  one  of  the  best  informed 
of  Shakespeare's  contemporaries  and  his  authority  on 
the  "visard  of  ye  ghost"  in  Hamlet,  crying  "so  miser- 
ably at  the  Theator"  may  be  regarded  as  a  first  hand 
criticism  of  Shakespeare's  acting,  it  seems  to  me. 

During  the  Gesta  Grayorum  time,  William  Stanley, 
6th  Earl  of  Derby,  married,  on  Jan.  26,  1594,  Francis 
Bacon's  cousin,  daughter  of  the  17th  Earl  of  Oxford. 

This  Earl  of  Derby  is  said  to  have  written  plays  and 
he,  like  other  nobles  of  his  rank,  had  his  own  company 
of  players.  To  him  the  poet  Thomas  Lodge  dedicated 
''A  Fig  for  Momus"  as  follows  : 

xlvi 


To  the  Right  Honorable 

and  thrice  renowmed  Lord,  William 

Earle  of  Darbie : 

T.  L.  his  most  humble  and  deuoted  seruant, 

ivishefh  all  health  and  happines. 

My  honoured  good  Lord,  hauing  resolued 
with  my  selfe  to  publish  certaine  my  poems,  and 
knowing  them  subject  to  much  preiudice,  except 
they  were  graced  with  some  noble  and  worthie 
patron :  1  haue  followed  the  example  of 
Metabo,  king  of  the  Volschi,  who  desirous  to  de- 
liuer  his  onelie  daughter  from  all  perill  and 
danger,  consecrated  and  dedicated  hir  to  the 
sister  of  the  sunne.  So  I  no  lesse  carefuU  of 
my  labors,  then  the  king  of  his  Camilla,  with 
deliberate  and  aduised  iudgement,  wholy  deuote 
and  ofifer  vp  my  poems  to  your  fauour  and  pro- 
tection: who  being  the  true  Maecenas  of  the 
Muses,  and  iudiciall  in  their  exercises,  are  of 
power  to  relieue  my  weaknes,  by  your  worthines, 
and  to  priuiledge  me  from  enuie,  though  she 
were  prest  to  deuoure  me:  If  midst  your  gen- 
erall  fauour  to  all  desert,  your  honour  vouchsafe 
this  particular  benefite  to  my  Industrie,  no  day, 
or  time,  (as  Tiilly  counsaileth)  shall  define  the 
memorie  of  your  benefits,  but  as  your  noble 
father  in  mine  infancie,  with  his  owne  hands  in- 
corporated me  into  your  house,  so  in  this  my 
retired  age  and  studie,  my  labour,  lines,  and 
whole  life,  shall  be  imployed  to  doe  your  honour 
and  seruice. 

Your  Lordships  most  botin- 
den  in  all  humilitie, 

THOMAS  LODGE. 
Hiinterian  Club,  Volume  C.  VRRC. 

xlvii 


The  following  is  Lodge's  dedication  to  Bacon's  Aunt 
Lady  Russell : 

To  the  noble,  learned  and  vertuous  ladie,  the 
Ladie  Russell,  T.  L.  wisheth  affluence  on  earth 
and  felicitie  in  heaven. 

MADAM,  your  deep  and  considerate  judge- 
ment, your  admired  honor  and  happy  readings, 
have  drawne  me  to  present  this  labor  of  mine 
to  your  gracious  hands  and  favorable  patronage: 
wherein,  though  you  shall  find  nothing  to  ad- 
mire, yet  doubt  I  not  but  you  may  meet  many 
things  that  deserve  cherishing.  Touching  the 
subject,  though  of  it  selfe  it  seeme  historicall, 
yet  if  it  please  you  like  our  English  Sapho  to 
look  into  that  which  I  have  slenderly  written,  I 
doubt  not  but  that  your  memory  shal  acquaint 
you  with  my  diligence,  and  my  diligence  may  de- 
serve your  applause.  Touching  the  place  where 
I  wrote  this,  it  was  in  those  straits  christned  by 
Magelan ;  in  which  place  to  the  southward  many 
wonderous  isles,  many  strange  fishes,  many  mon- 
strous Patagones  withdrew  my  sense;  briefly, 
many  bitter  and  extreme  frosts  at  midsummer 
continually  clothe  and  clad  the  discomfortable 
mountains;  so  that  as  there  was  great  wonder  in 
the  place  wherein  I  writ  this,  so  likewise  might 
it  be  marvelled,  that  in  such  scantie  fare,  such 
causes  of  feare,  so  mightie  discouragements,  and 
many  crosses,  I  should  deserve  or  eternize  any 
thing.  Yet  what  I  have  done  (good  Madame), 
judge  and  hope  this  felicite  from  my  pen,  that 
whilst  the  memorie  thereof  shal  live  in  any  age, 
your  charitie,  learning,  nobilitie  and  vertues, 
shall  be  eternized.  Oppian,  writing  to  Theo- 
dosius,  was  as  famous  by  the  person  to  whome 
hee  consecrated  his  study,   as  fortunate   in  his 

,  xlviii 


labours,  which  as  yet  are  not  mastered  by  ob- 
livion; so  hope  I  (Madame),  on  the  wing  of 
your  sacred  name  to  be  borne  to  the  temple  of 
eternitie,  where,  though  envie  barke  at  me,  the 
Muses  shall  cherish,  love,  and  happie  me.  Thus 
hoping  your  ladiship  will  supply  my  boldnesse 
with  your  bountie  and  afifabilitie,  I  humbly  kisse 
your  most  delicate  handes,  shutting  up  my  Eng- 
lish duety  under  an  Italian  copie  of  humanitie 
and  curtesie.  From  my  house,  this  4.  of  Maie, 
1596. 

Your  honors  in  all  zeale, 

T.  LODGE. 

This  was  edited  by  James  O.  Halliwell,  London, 
1859,  with  Title  page  as  follows: 

A  MARGARITE  OF  AMERICA.  By  T. 
LODGE.  Printed  for  John  Busbie.  and  are  to 
be  sold  in  S.  Diinsfons  church-yard  in  Fleet- 
street,  at  the  little  shop  next  Cliffords  Inne.  1596. 

In  April,  1593,  William  Shakespeare's  name  for  the 
first  time  appeared  in  print,  appended  to  a  dedication 
to  what  the  poet  called  "the  first  heir  of  my  invention," 
or  his  first  poem,  Venus  and  Adonis.  This  dedication 
was  addressed  to  Henry  Wriothesley,  third  Earl  of 
Southampton,  who  had  just  become  of  age,  and  was  a 
member  of  Gray's  Inn. 

Bacon's  uncle.  Lord  Burghley,  had  been  his  guardian 
and  had  sent  him  to  Cambridge  to  be  educated  in  1585. 
If  the  child  is  father  to  the  man,  this  young  lord  must 
have  been  a  born  cynic,  for  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he 
wrote  a  composition  in  Latin,  which  he  sent  to  Burgh- 
ley, entitled,  "All  men  are  moved  to  the  pursuit  of  vir- 
tue by  the  hope  of  reward."  (D.  N.  B.)     From  what  I 

xil 


know  of  his  character  I  should  say  he  was  rather  over- 
estimated by  the  writers  of  that  age  and  of  a  sullen  and 
morose  disposition.  Bacon  may  have  brought  Shake- 
speare in  touch  with  this  young  Earl  thinking  to  form 
his  taste  for  the  best  in  literature,  for  Southampton  was 
infatuated  with  plays,  and  as  Shakespeare  had  not 
deigned  to  put  his  name  in  print  on  a  play,  he  may  have 
hoped  to  win  him  from  them  to  other  studies.  The  title 
page  of  Venus  and  Adonis  was  without  the  poet's  name,^ 
but  it  bore  the  following  Latin  Motto  from  Ovid : 


't5 


'Vilia    miretur   vulgus;    mihi   fiaviis   Apollo 
Pociila  Castalia  plena  ministret  aqua" 


or 


''Let  common  folk  marvel  at  cheap  things.  Let 
blonde  Apollo  Serve  me  cups  brimming  with 
Castalian  lymph." 

I  see  in  these  lines  a  gently  veiled  admonition  to  the 
young  Earl,  to  flee  from  and  avoid  common  plays, 
which  the  crowd  marvelled  at  and  applauded.  Shake- 
speare no  longer  spoke  from  "under  mimic  shade"  and 
for  the  time  being  had  cast  ofif  his  "despised  weed"  or 
dress  of  an  actor  and  dramatist.  He  acknowledged  his 
brain  child  Venus  and  Adonis  as  his  ''heir,"  as  if  his 
poems  were  paramount  in  his  esteem.  His  second  poem, 
Lucrece,  came  out  in  May,  1594,  with  William  Shake- 
speare's name  again  appended  to  a  dedication  to  the 
same  Earl  of  Southampton. 

In  1593  "the  Societies  of  Gray's  Inn  and  the  Inner 
Temple"  boh  held  their  Autumn  Pensions  in  St.  Al- 
bans. No  readings  were  held  in  Gray's  Inn  in  1593, 
and  during  this  year  and  1594  Francis  Bacon  was  in- 
disposed and  attended  very  few  of  the  Pensions. 


During  all  this  leisure  time  he  could  have  brought 
his  young  friend,  the  Karl  of  Southampton,  and  Shake- 
speare in  touch.  Without  the  authority  of  Bishop  Whit- 
gift,  who  had  been  Bacon's  tutor  at  Cambridge,  Venus 
and  Adotiis  and  Ijucrece  could  not  have  been  published. 

Sir  Thomas  Heneage,  a  member  of  Gray's  Inn  and 
Bacon's  good  friend,  was  Vice  Chamberlain  to  the 
Queen.  He  married  the  young  Earl  of  Southampton's 
mother  this  very  month,  on  2nd  of  May,  1594.  Sir 
Thomas  Heneage  was  made  Vice  Chamberlain  7th 
September,  1587.^  He  was  a  genial  gentleman  with 
a  lovable  disposition  and  had  much  influence  at  Court 
and  among  the  stage  poets.  In  fact  he  had  control 
over  plays  and  players  in  the  absence  of  the  Lord 
Chamberlain.  If  Bacon  was  Shakespeare's  friend,  his 
influence  would  help  in  making  Sir  Thomas  Heneage 
a  well-wisher  to  the  poet,  but  nothing  has  come  down 
to  us  to  enlighten  us  on  this  point. 

Prior  to  giving  the  Masque  at  Greenwich  before  the 
Queen,  the  following  letter  was  sent  to  Sir  Thomas 
Heneage: 

Henry  Prince  of  Purpoole  to  the  Right  Hon- 
ourable Sir  Thomas  Heneage. 
"Most  Honourable  Knight, 
"I  have  now  accomplished  a  most  tedious  and 
hazardous    journey,    though    very    honourable, 
into  Russia;  and  returning  within  the  view  of 
the  Court  of  your  renowned  Queen,  my  gracious 
Sovereign,  to  whom  I  acknowledge  homage  and 
service,  I  thought  good,  in  passing  by,  to  kiss  her 
sacred  hands,  as  a  tender  of  the  zeal  and  duty  I 
owe  unto  her  Majesty;  but,  in  making  the  ofifer, 

iStowe's  Chronicle,  p.  367. 


I  found  my  desire  was  greater  than  the  ability 
of  my  body;  which,  by  length  of  my  journey,  and 
my  sickness  at  sea,  is  so  weakened,  as  it  were  very 
dangerous  for  me  to  adventure  it.  Therefore, 
most  honourable  friend,  let  me  intreat  you  to 
make  my  humble  excuse  to  her  Majesty  for  this 
present:  and  to  certifie  her  Highness,  that  I  do 
hope,  by  the  assistance  of  the  Divine  Providence, 
to  recover  my  former  strength  about  Shrovetide; 
at  which  time  I  intend  to  repair  to  her  Majesty's 
Court  (if  it  may  stand  with  her  gracious  pleas- 
ure) to  offer  my  service,  and  relate  the  success 
of  my  journey.  And  so  praying  your  Honour 
to  return  me  her  Majesty's  answer,  I  wish  you  all 
honour  and  happiness. 

"Dated  from  ship-board,  at  our  Ark  of  Vanity, 
the  I  St  of  February  1594." 

Those  who  know  Bacon's  style  will  recognize  it  in 
this  epistle.  In  a  letter  of  his  to  the  Queen  he  dated  it 
from  "My  Tub.  of  Vanity." 

That  Southampton  did  not  appreciate  the  mind  of 
Shakespeare  is  apparent.  In  1598  the  Earl  of  South- 
ampton accompanied  Bacon's  cousin.  Sir  Robert  Cecil, 
to  France.  He  was  at  this  period  in  love  with  the 
Queen's  maid  of  honor,  Elizabeth  Vernon,  who  had 
retired  from  Court  and  was  domiciled  for  the  time  be- 
ing at  Essex  house.  That  prince  of  letter  writers,  John 
Chamberlain,  wrote  to  Carleton,  30th  August,  1598: 

"It  is  bruted  under  hand,  that  he  [South- 
ampton] was  latelie  here  foure  dayes  in  greate 
secrete  of  purpos  to  marry  her,  and  effected  it 
accordingly." 

Chamberlain  Letters,  Camden  Soc,  p.  18. 

lii 


Three  months  later,  8th  November  1598,  the  same  to 
the  same,  writes : 


"The  new  Countess  of  Southampton  is  brought 
a  bed  of  a  daughter/'^ 
and  twenty-two  days  later  the  same  writer  to  the  same: 

"The  Earl  of  Southampton  is  come  home,  and 
for  his  welcome  committee  to  the  Fleet,  but  I 
hear  he  is  already  upon  his  delivery." 

Elizabeth  Vernon  was  first  cousin  to  the  Queen's 
favorite,  Robert,  Earl  of  Essex,  and  distantly  related 
to  Sir  Thomas  Lucy's  wife. 

The  following  letter  from  the  Countess  of  South- 
ampton to  her  husband  from  "Chartly,  8th  July,"  is 
of  Shakespearian  interest: 

"Al  the  nues  I  can  send  you  that  I  thinke  wil 
make  you  mery  is  that  I  reade  in  a  letter  from 
London  that  Sir  John  Falstaf  is  by  his  Mrs. 
Dame  Pintpot,  made  father  of  a  godly  milers 
thumb,  a  boye  all  heade  and  veri  litel  body;  but 
this  is  a  secrit."' 

This  leads  me  to  think  there  was  among  their  friends 
some  very  portly  gentleman  whom  they  nicknamed  Sir 
John  Falstafif,  or  that  the  gentleman  bore  in  his  coat 
of  Arms  what  is  called  in  Heraldry  a  Chalbot  known 
by  the  name  of  Miller  s  thumb. 

This  broad  head  fish  was  sometimes  called  a  GulL 
In  Hen.  V.  11.2  we  find: 

Tis  a  gull,  a  fool,  a  rogue,  that  now  and  then 
goes  to  the  wars. 

3ll)id,  p.  27. 

-Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  p.  14.S. 

liii 


The  Countess  of  Southampton's  reference  was  to 
I  Hen.  I  V.  1 1.,  where  the  Hostess  of  the  Boars  Head, 
convulsed  with  mirth,  exclaims: 

O  rare!  he  doth  it  as  like  one  of  those  harlotry 
players  as  ever  I  see. 

and  Falstaf  retorts: 

Peace,  good  pint-pot;  peace  good  tickle  brain. 

I  believe  Love's  Labours  Lost  was  written  to  cele- 
brate the  marriage  of  the  Earl  of  Southampton,  who 
hurried  back  from  France  to  marry  the  lady  whom  he 
had  placed  in  a  delicate  condition.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  the  Earl  of  Southampton  accompanied 
Bacon's  cousin  Robert  Cecil,  Elizabeth's  secretary,  to 
Paris  at  this  very  time,  and  that  the  politics  of  France 
would  be  fresh  in  his  mind.  And  a  year  after  South- 
ampton's release  from  the  Tower  in  1604  this  comedy 
of  Love's  Labours  Lost  was  performed  before  Queen 
Anne  at  Southampton's  own  house  in  the  Strand,  indi- 
cating that  the  Earl  and  his  wife  had  a  special  liking 
for  this  play,  which  I  conjecture  was  written  to  cele- 
brate their  marriage.  The  writer's  or  gossip's  of  the 
Court  tell  us  Southampton  delighted  in  the  drama,  and 
with  Essex,  in  1598,  attended  plays  daily. 

I  repeat  I  believe  the  Comedy  of  Errors  was  pur- 
posely designed  as  a  portion  of  the  ''Law  Sporis"  at 
Gray's  Inn,  and  I  partly  base  my  belief  on  the  follow- 
ing reasons: 

Lord  Campbell  said  Shakespeare  was  familiar  "with 
some  of  the  most  abstruce  proceedings  in  English  juris- 
prudence."    If  Bacon  was  interested  in  Shakespeare 

liv 


could  he  not  have  taught  him  all  this?  I  really  think 
Robert  Greene  in  his  slur  on  ^'Johannes  Factotum" 
aimed  a  double  blow  and  struck  at  the  name  and  fame 
of  Bacon  as  well  as  at  ''Shake-scene." 

In  the  Comedy  of  Errors,  Act  II,  Sc.  2,  we  have 
the  dialogue  between  Antipholus  and  his  man  Dromio: 

Dro.  S.     There'  no  time  for  a  man  to  recover 

his  hair,  that  grows  bald  by  nature. 
Ant.    S.     May  he  not  do  it  by  fine  and  recovery^ 
Dro.   S.     Yes,  to  pay  a  fine  for  a  periwig,  and 
recover  the  lost  hair  of  another  man. 
In  Act  IV,  Sc.  2,  Adriana  asks  Dromio  of  Syracuse : 
"Where  is  thy  master,  Dromio?    Is  he  well?" 

and  Dromio  replies: 

"No,  he's  in  Tartar  limbo,  worse  than  hell: 

A  devil  in  an  everlasting  garment  hath  him. 

One  whose  hard  heart  is  button'd  up  with  steel; 

A  fiend,  a  fairy,  pitless  and  rough; 

A  wolf,  nay  worse,  a  fellow  all  in  bufif ; 

A  back-friend,  a  shoulder-clapper,  one  that 
countermands 

The  passages  and  alleys,  creeks  and  narrow 
lands: 

A  hound  that  runs  counter,  and  yet  draws  dry- 
foot  well ; 

One  that  before  the  judc/ment  carries  poor  souls 
to  hell." 

Adr.     Why,  man,  what  is  the  matter? 

Dro  S.  I  do  not  know  the  matter;  he  is  'rested 
on  the  case. 

Adr.  What,  is  he  arrested?  Tell  me  at  whose 
suit. 

Dro.  S.  I  know  not  at  whose  suit  he  is  ar- 
rested, well, 

Iv 


But  he's   'in   a   suit  of   buff  which'    rested 
him,  that  can  I  tell     *     *     * 
Adr.     *     *     *     This  I  wonder  at: 

That  he,  unknown  to  me,  should  be  in 

debt. 
Tell  me,  was  he  arrested  on  a  bond? 
Dro.  S.     Not   on   a   bond,   but  on   a   stronger 
thing: 
A  chain,  a  chain! 

Now  who  could  relish  this  law  business  better  than 
the  Inns  of  Court  men?  Many  of  whom  were  often  in 
debt  and  no  doubt  felt  a  fellow  feeling  when  Dromeo 
in  his  malediction  called  the  Sergeant  "devil,"  "fiend," 
and  "wolf,"  who  "carries  poor  souls  to  hell."  This  of- 
ficer was  so  dreaded  and  abhorred  that  even  the  dying 
Hamlet  utters  the  pathetic  words : 

"This  fell  Sergeant,  death,  is  strict  in  his  arrest." 

Anthony  Bacon,  who  returned  to  England  in  1592, 
after  a  twelve  years'  residence  in  France,  must  have 
enjoyed  Act  III,  Sc.  2,  when  one  of  the  Dromios  is 
asked  in  what  part  of  Luce  he  could  find  France,  re- 
plies: 

".  .   .In  her  forehead; 

Armed  and  reverted,  making  war  against  her 
hair  (Heir)." 

This  was  a  political  hit  at  King  Henry  of  Navarre, 
who  was  Anthony  Bacon's  friend.  The  allusion  to  the 
civil  war  in  France  could  only  be  appreciated  by  those 
acquainted  with  the  history  and  troubles  in  France  at 
that  period.  In  i  ^89  Henry  of  Navarre  became  the 
legitimate  heir  to  the  throne,  but  he  had  to  fight  his 

Ivi 


way  through  blood  to  achieve  it,  and  did  not  succeed  in 
establishing  his  right  until  1593-4.  Anthony  Bacon 
possessed  more  political  secrets  than  any  man  of  his 
time,  outside  of  his  friend,  Walsingham,  and  his  kins- 
men, the  CeciTs.  He  had  spent  his  life,  his  fortune 
(even  his  jewels)  in  the  service  of  his  country.  In  re- 
turn he  only  received  from  those  from  whom  he  ex- 
pected most  (the  Queen  and  Burleigh) — ingratitude 
and  neglect 

The  reader  may  be  familiar  with  the  ''Chain"  allu- 
sions in  the  Comedy  of  Errors. 

There  is  so  much  made  of  the  "chain"  which  runs 
through  Acts  II,  III,  IV  and  V  of  the  Comedy  of  Er- 
rors, that  my  researches  lead  me  to  believe  that  in  them 
a  parody  is  intended,  and  that  it  points  to  that  learned 
Judge,  Sir  Roger  Manwood,  a  member  of  the  Inner 
Temple  and  a  friend  of  Lord  Coke's. 

In  1 56 1  this  gentleman  had  taken  part  in  the  Christ- 
mas revels  in  the  Masque  of  Palaphilos  at  the  Middle 
Temple.  Manwood's  character  was  not  calculated  to 
win  him  the  friendship  of  men  of  honor.  Francis 
Davison  no  doubt  disliked  him,  for  he  was  one  of  those 
who  sat  on  the  commission  in  1587,  which  found  Secre- 
tary Davison  "guilty  of  misprison  and  contempt."  "In 
1 59 1  he  was  detected  in  the  sale  of  one  of  the  offices  in 
his  gift  and  sharply  censured  by  the  Queen."  .  .  . 
This  was  but  one  of  several  misfeasances  of  various  de- 
grees of  gravity  with  which  Manwood  was  charged." 
According  to  Manningham's  Diary,  "he  even  stooped 
to  appropriate  a  gold  chain  which  a  goldsmith  had 
placed  in  his  hands  for  inspection,  and  on  the  privy 

Ivii 


council     interventing  by  writ  at  the  suit  of  the  gold- 
smith, returned  the  scornful  answer: 

"Malas  causas  habentes  semper  fugiunt  ad 
potentes.  Ubi  non  valet  Veritas  praevalet  auctor- 
itas.  Currat,  lex  vivet  Rex,  and  so  fare  you  well 
my  Lords."     (D.  N.  B.) 

That  is: 

"Those  men  who  have  a  poor  case  (not  strong 
legally)  always  flee  to  men  of  honor.  Where 
truth  is  not  strong,  prestage  carries  the  day. 
Good-bye  law,  long  live  the  King!" 

Manningham  tells  the  story  thus : 

"Lord  Chief  Baron  Manwood,  understanding 
that  his  Sonne  had  sold  his  chayne  to  a  gold- 
smith, sent  for  the  goldsmith,  willed  him  to  bring 
the  chayne,  enquired  where  he  bought  it.  He 
told,  m  his  house.  The  Baron  desired  to  see  it, 
and  put  it  in  his  pocket,  telling  him  it  was  not 
lawfully  bought.  The  goldsmith  sued  the  Lord, 
and,  fearing  the  issue  would  prove  against  him, 
obtained  the  Counsell's  letters  to  the  Lord  who 
answered"  in  the  above  Latin,  "but  he  was 
Comitt,"  says  Manningham. 

In  1592  Manwood  was  arraigned  before  the  Privy 
Council.  Bacon's  dearest  foe.  Coke,  was  a  great  friend 
of  Manwood's. 

Sir  Julius  Caesar,  who  for  his  third  wife,  married 
Bacon's  niece,  was  at  this  time  Treasurer  of  the  Inner 
Temple. 

Attorney  General  Coke  had  Chambers  in  the  Inner 
Temple  and  was  one  of  its  most  distinguished  members. 
The  Gesta  Grayonun  tells  us: 

Iviii 


"The  Lord  Ambassador  and  his  train  thought 
that  they  were  not  so  kindly  entertained  as  was 
before  expected,  and  thereupon  would  not  stay 
any  longer  at  that  time,  but,  in  a  sort  discontented 
and  displeased." 

It  is  well  known  Sir  Edward  Coke,  neither  favored 
poetry  nor  was  ever  inspired  by  it.  He  bragged  that  he 
had  succeeded  neither  by  ''pen  nor  purse"  and  no  doubt 
scorned  the  Gary's  Inn  law  sports  and  revels,  and  the 
satire  in  the  comedy  against  his  colleague,  Manwood. 
As  for  plays  and  players  Coke  had  the  utmost  con- 
tempt. In  a  ''Speech  and  Charge  with  the  Discoveries 
of  the  Abuses  and  Corruption  of  Officers"  which  he 
made  at  Norwich,  he  said: 

"The  abuse  of  stage  players,  wherewith  I  find 
the  countrey  much  troubled,  may  easily  be  re- 
formed. They  having  no  commission  to  play  in 
any  place  without  leave;  and  therefore,  if  by 
your  willingness  they  be  not  entertained  you  may 
soone  be  rid  of  them."     {Printed  1607.) 

In  1599  on  the  ninth  day  of  his  Morrice  Will  Kempe 
danced  into  Norwich  where  he  tells  us  in  his  Nine  Days 
Wonder: 

"Master  Roger  Wiler  the  Maior,  and  sundry 
other  of  his  worshipful  Brethren  sent  for  me" 
and  "they  not  onlly  very  courteously  offered  to 
beare  mine  owne  charges  and  my  followers,  but 
.    .    .   the  Mayor,  and  many  of  the  Aldermen 
oftentimes  besides  invited  us  privately  to  theyr 
several  houses." 
Lord  Coke  in  his  speech  may  have  wanted  to  ad- 
monish  the   Mayor  and   his  Aldermen  for  their  too 
kindly  reception  of  a  player. 

lix 


I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  Actor  Kempe  was  a 
member  of  the  family  of  the  Norwich  Kempes,  and  that 
the  Mayor  knowing  this,  honored  him  the  more  for  that 
reason. 

The  younger  sons  of  gentlemen  sometimes  became 
players.  Nathaniel  Field,  brother  of  Bacon's  friend 
Bishop  Theophilus  Field,  was  an  actor  and  a  play- 
writer,  and  is  said  to  have  been  a  Sharer  in  the  Globe 
Theatre. 

Soon  after  the  Globe  was  built  Kempe's  one  share 
in  it  was  divided  equally  between  Heminge,  and  two 
others. 

We  learn  through  Dr.  C.  W.  Wallace  that  in  1599 
Kempe  transferred  his  share  in  the  Globe  to  a  name- 
less outside  party,  and  that  this  party  "immediately 
granted  it  to  Shakespeare,  Heminge,  Phillips,  and 
Pope." 

Kempe  was  the  leader  of  a  Company  of  Players  who 
visited  the  Court  of  Denmark  in  1586.  He  could  have 
described  Elsinore  to  Shakespeare  on  his  return.  The 
Bacon's  were  related  to  the  Kempe's  of  Norwich,  some 
of  whom  were  members  of  Gray's  Inn.  It  is  my  belief 
William  Kempe,  under  the  guise  of  an  actor,  visited 
Foreign  Courts  to  glean  intelligence  for  the  Court  of 
Elizabeth,  and  I  also  believe  that  the  first  draft  of 
Shakespeare's  Hamlet  appeared  in  1589.  Nashe  alludes 
to  "whole  hamlets"  in  1589,  and  to  "English  Seneca," 
which  seems  to  point  at  the  Inns  of  Court,  especially 
to  Gray's  Inn,  where  The  Misfortunes  of  Arthur,  a 
Senecan   tragedv,   was   composed   by   the  members   in 

1587-8. 


It  is  said  that  whole  passages  of  this  play  were  taken 
bodily  from  Seneca.  The  Inns  of  Court  men  were  de- 
voted to  Senecan  tragedies.  Jasper  Heywood,  the  uncle 
of  the  poet  Dr.  John  Donne,  was  the  first  who  trans- 
lated three  of  them  into  English,  and  the  poet  Thomas 
Lodge  has  given  us  another  English  translation. 

Three  years  after  Kempe's  visit  to  the  Court  of  Den- 
mark, that  poet  courtier  and  altogether  charming  gen- 
tleman, Sir  Edward  Dyer,  was  sent  on  a  diplomatic 
mission  to  Denmark  in  1589.  To  this  gentleman  Sir 
Philip  Sidney  willed  part  of  his  books  in  1586.  To 
Francis  Bacon's  kinsman.  Sir  Henry  Goodere  (who 
made  Drayton  a  poet),  the  noble  Sidney  bequeathed  a 
ring  and  made  him  one  of  the  overseers  of  his  will. 

It  may  be  inferred  that  the  Author  of  Hamlet  could 
have  imbibed  from  the  poet  Dyer,  and  the  Actor 
Kempe,  the  very  atmosphere  of  Elsinore. 

In  a  letter  from  John  Chamberlain  to  his  friend 
Dudley  Carlton,  dated  June  28,  1599,  he  writes: 

"The  Queen  is  given  to  understand  that  he 
(Essex)  has  given  Essex  house  to  Antonie  Bacon, 
wherewith  she  is  nothing  pleased;  but  as  far  as  I 
heare  it  is  but  in  lieu  of  2000  1.  he  meant  to  be- 
stow upon  him,  with  a  clause  of  redemption  for 
that  sum  by  a  day."  Chamberlain's  Letters. 
Camb.  Society. 

I  agree  with  Chamberlain  that  this  act  of  Essex  (if 
true)  was  in  lieu  of  money  owed  to  Anthony  Bacon,  for 
long  and  faithful  services  rendered  to  the  Earl.  I  think 
Essex  died  before  he  could  compensate  Anthony,  and 
that  he  was  deeply  in  debt  to  his  faithful  friend,  who 
did  not  long  survive  him. 

Ixi 


On  27th  May,  1601,  Chamberlain  again  writes  to 
Carleton : 

"Antony  Bacon  died  not  long  since;  but  so  far 
in  debt,  that  I  think  his  brother  is  little  the  bet- 
ter by  him."    Ibid. 

The  Earl  of  Essex  was  beheaded  February  25th, 
1 60 1,  and  the  blow  was  too  severe  for  the  friend  of  his 
bosom,  Anthony  Bacon,  whose  health  had  been  very 
frail  for  years.  Less  than  three  months  after  the  death 
of  Essex,  Anthony  followed  him  to  the  grave,  and  was 
buried  on  the  17th  of  May,  1601,  ten  days  before  the 
date  of  Chamberlain's  letter. 

Anthony  attended  the  Church  of  St.  Olave,  Hart 
Street,  one  of  the  aristocratic  churches  in  London.  It 
was  near  to  Essex  house,  and  the  Earl's  children  were 
baptized  by  its  minister. 

The  Bacon  tomb  was  under  the  altar  of  this  church, 
and  here  Anthony  set  up  his  everlasting  rest.  A  few 
days  later  one  of  his  men  (a  French  man)  was  interred 
in  the  same  vault.  I  made  this  discovery  several  years 
ago,  but  have  unfortunately  mislaid  my  notes  so  that  I 
cannot  give  the  page  and  reference  verbatim. 

It  will  interest  my  readers  to  know  that  a  fifteen  min- 
utes' walk  from  this  church  of  St.  Olave,  Hart  Street, 
would  bring  one  to  Montjoy's  the  Tiremaker's,  at  the 
corner  of  Silver  and  Monkwell  Streets,  where  Shakes- 
peare sojourned  so  many  years,  and  played  the  good 
fairy  to  the  lovers,  Mary  Montjoy  and  Stephen  Bellott. 

The  brothers,  Francis  and  Anthony  Bacon,  were  knit 
by  the  closest  bonds  of  love.  Yet  in  death  they  were 
divided.    In  Lord  Bacon's  will  he  says: 

Ixii 


"For  my  burial,  I  desire  it  may  be  in  St. 
Michael's  Church,  St.  Albans:  there  was  my 
mother  buried,  and  it  is  the  parish  church  of  my 
mansion-house  of  Gorhambury,  and  it  is  the  only 
Christian  church  within  the  walls  of  Old  Veru- 
1am.  For  my  name  and  memory,  I  leave  it  to 
men's  charitable  speeches,  to  foreign  nations,  and 
the  next  ages." 

It  is  a  consolation  to  know  that  St.  Olave  Church  in 
Hart  Street,  London,  and  St.  Michael's  Church  in  St. 
Albans,  are  still  standing,  and  that  in  each  of  these  is 
shrined  all  that  was  mortal  of  these  wonderfully  de- 
voted and  loving  brothers,  Anthony  and  Francis  Bacon. 

After  the  exit  of  Sir  Henry  Herbert,  the  Master  of 
the  Revels,  in  1673,  Bacon's  kinsmen,  the  Killigrews, 
became  leaders  in  the  theatrical  world. 

Bacon's  niece  married  Sir  Robert  Killigrew,  and 
their  two  sons,  William,  born  in  1606,  and  Thomas,  in 
161 1,  became  dramatic  authors.  William  Killigrew 
was  knighted  by  Charles  I,  and  was  made  a  gentleman 
Usher  to  that  king.  He  was  vice-chamberlain  to  the 
Queen  and  brought  out  three  plays  about  1665. 

His  younger  brother,  Thomas,  became  more  famous 
as  a  dramatist  and  may  be  said  to  have  succeeded  Sir 
Henry  Herbert  in  the  office  of  Master  of  the  Revels. 
He  was  a  page  to  Charles  I,  and  a  groom  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Charles  H.  "As  motley  was  the  only  wear"  in 
that  licentious  monarch's  court,  Thomas  Killigrew,  like 
Jaques,  may  have  thought: 

"Invest  me  in  my  motley;  give  me  leave  to 
speak  the  truth." 
for  to  his  master,  Charles  II,  he  dared  openly  to  speak 

Ixiii 


almost  brutal  truths.  This  led  some  one  to  call  him  the 
king's  "Jester."  Killigrew's  frankness  did  not  lower 
him  in  the  king's  estimation,  for  in  1660  Charles  II 
granted  licenses  to  Killigrew  to  erect  two  new  play- 
houses and  to  form  two  new  companies,  as  well  as  to 
livenve  their  own  plays  (Davenant  was  joined  with  him 
in  these).  This  was  a  sad  blow  to  Sir  Henry  Herbert^ 
Master  of  the  Revels,  and  there  was  much  litigation 
between  them.     But  in    1662   they  signed   articles  of 

agreement  and  promised  toenter  into  a"bondof  amity," 
The   Herberts  were  passing  from  the  scene.      Philip 

Herbert,  Earl  of  Montgomery  and  fourth  Earl  of  Pem- 
broke, died  in  1650,  and  the  despotic  rod  he  had  wielded 
as  Lord  Chamberlain,  was  no  longer  held  over  the 
heads  of  dramatic  poets.  Thomas  Killigrew,  son  of 
Thomas,  the  king's  'Jester,"  was  also  a  writer  of  stage 
plays. 

In  Shakespeare's  nature  is  found  the  rarity  of  two 
distinct  individualities.  The  Poet  and  the  man  are 
dualistic.  I  have  thought  Ben  Jonson's  lines  before 
the  first  Folio  may  have  alluded  to  this  characteristic — 

"That  I  not  mixe  thee  so  my  mind  excuses  *  *  * 

It  has  been  difficult — almost  an  impossible  task — for 
the  student  to  amalgamate  these  two  natures.  On  the 
one  hand  poetry  flows  from  and  seems  to  be  the  very 
essence  and  life  blood  of  the  Poet  Shakespeare;  'while 
on  the  other  hand,  to  the  man,  Shakespeare,  it  appears 
incidental,  non-essential,  or  "as  it  were  a  careless  trifle." 
The  poet's  own  words  better  illustrate  this  difference 
where  in  the  Comedy  of  Errors,  V.  I.,  the  Duke  says : 

Ixiv 


."IT 


One  of  these  men  is  genius  to  the  other; 

.    .    .  Which  is  the  natural  man 

And  which  the  spirit?    Who  deciphers  them? 

The  Poet  by  his  contemporaries  was  called  "gentle' 
and  John  Davies  of  Hereford  (1611)  says: 

"Thou  hast  no  rayling  but  a  reigning  Wit." 

But  the  man  Shakespeare  contradicted  this.  He  was 
litigious  and  sued  a  townsman  for  a  few  shillings.  The 
facts  so  far  discovered  relate  to  siiits-at-law^  quit-claims, 
or  an  action  against  someone.  Prof.  Wallace's  valuable 
discoveries  connect  Shakespeare  with  two  law  suits. 
One  over  the  Blackfriars  property  in  161 5  and  the  other 
as  a  witness  in  a  lawsuit  in  161 2.  Precious  as  these  dis- 
coveries are,  they  in  no  way  so  far  as  I  know  connect 
Shakespeare  with  the  plays  or  poems,  but  as  Prof.  Wal- 
lace is  continuing  his  researches  with  undiminished 
ardor,  we  must  be  fed  by  the  hope  that  he  may  yet  do 
this. 

Shakespeare  was  fated  to  go  to  law  over  the  New 
Place  property  in  Stratford-on-Avon  in  1597.  This  is 
a  matter  of  record  and  is  clearly  shown  by  Halliwell 
Phillipps  in  his  "Outlines,"  p.  399  Ed.  1882,  where  he 
gives  a  copy  (in  Latin)  "of  the  foot  of  fine  levied  on  this 
occasion."  Shakespeare  did  not  gain  possession  of  this 
property  until  five  years  later,  /.  e.  in  1602. 

The  Underbill  family,  from  whom  Shakespeare 
bought  the  property  were  still  in  possession.  There 
seems  to  be  a  mystery  about  this  transaction  that  has  not 
been  explained.  The  reader  will  see  that  there  were  two 
fines  on  this  property  of  New  Place,  and  can  make  his 
own  conclusions  from  the  translation  I  now  give  of  the 

Ixv 


Legal  Documents  (Quit  Claims)  in  which  Shakespeare 
figured : 

"Between  William  Shakespeare,  complainant, 
and  William  Underhill,  gentleman,  maintaining 
possession  by  force  (or  in  distraint)  as  to  one 
dwelling  house  (mesuagio),  two  barns  (orgrain- 
aries)  and  two  gardens  with  appurtenances,  in 
Stratford-on-Avon,  when  a  Summons  was  made 
as  to  an  agreement  between  them  in  the  same 
court,  whereas  the  aforesaid  William  Underhill 
has  acknowledged  that  the  aforesaid  tenements 
with  appurtenances  are  the  rightful  property  of 
William  Shakespeare  himself  as  (are)  those 
which  the  same  William  holds  by  gift  of  the 
aforesaid  William  Underhill  and  he  has  remit- 
ted the  same  and  given  a  quit  claim  as  to  himself 
and  his  heirs,  that  they  themselves  will  guarantee 
to  the  aforesaid  William  Shakespeare  and  his 
heirs,  the  aforesaid  tenements  with  appurte- 
nances forever.  And  for  this  acknowledgement, 
quit  claim,  guarantee,  termination  and  harmony, 
the  same  William  Shakespeare  has  given  to  the 
aforesaid  William  Underhill  sixty  pounds  sterl- 
ing.   Easter  Term,  39  Elizabeth.   . 

This  "termination"  was  not  realized,  for  five  years 
later  1602  "another  fine  was  levied  on  New  Place  for 
the  same  property,"  says  Halliwell  Phillips  ibid. 

The  reader  may  have  observed  that  in  the  first  fine, 
the  title  of  "gentleman"  is  put  after  William  Under- 
hiirs  name,  but  not  given  to  Shakespeare.  Not  till 
five  years  later  is  the  title  of  gentleman  given  to  Shakes- 
peare in  these  documents.  The  following  is  a  transla- 
tion of  the  second  fine : 

Ixvi 


"Between  William  Shakespeare,  gentleman, 
complainant,  and  Hercules  Undcrhill,  gentle- 
man, maintaining  possession  by  force  (deforce- 
antem)  concerning  one  dwelling-house,  two 
barns  (granaries) ,  two  gardens  and  two  orchards, 
with  appurtenances,  in  Stratford-on-Avon, 
whence  a  summons  of  a  settled  agreement  be- 
tween them  was  entered  in  the  same  court  where- 
as the  aforesaid  Hercules  has  acknowledged  that 
the  aforesaid  tenements  with  appurtenances  are 
the  lawful  property  of  the  same  William  person- 
ally, like  those  which  the  same  William  holds  by 
gift  of  the  aforesaid  Hercules,  and  he  has  re- 
mitted them  and  given  a  quit  claim  of  himself 
and  his  heirs  to  the  aforesaid  William  and  his 
heirs  forever.  And  besides  the  said  Hercules 
has  granted  for  himself  and  his  heirs,  that  they 
themselves  will  guarantee  to  the  aforesaid  Wil- 
liam and  his  heirs  the  aforesaid  tenements  with 
appurtenances  against  the  aforesaid  Hercules 
and  his  heirs  forever;  and  for  this  acknowledge- 
ment, remission,  quit  claim,  warrant,  fine  and 
harmony,  the  said  William  has  given  to  the 
aforesaid  Hercules  sixty  pounds  sterling." 
(Michelmas  Term  44  and  45  Elizabeth.) 

Tyrwhitt  was  the  discoverer  of  the  Shake-scene  allu- 
sion in  Robert  Greene's  ^'Groats-worth  of  Wit"  written 
in  1592.  Most  commentators  agree  that  this  allusion  of 
the  dying  stage-poet,  Greene,  was  to  Shakespeare,  who 
like  Pallas  was  immediately  brought  forth  armed  and 
ready  to  "shake  a  lance"  at  ignorance. 

"The  tongues  of  dying  men  enforce  attention." 

Hence  it  is  that  so  much  has  been  written  on  these 
allusions  in  Greene's  last  work,  the  Groats-Worth  of 

Ixvii 


Wit.  It  may  seem  rash  in  the  writer  to  offer  a  new- 
solution  or  interpretation  of  Greene's  tirade  against 
Shakespeare,  but  it  will  do  no  harm. 

Greene  was  stung  to  the  quick  by  the  praise  bestowed 
on  this  unnamed  man  by  Spencer  "best  read  in  ancient 
poetry,"  who  likened  the  new  dramatist  to  an  Eagle : 

"Whose  Muse  full  of  high  thoughts  invention, 
Doth  like  himself  heroically  sound." 

Spencer  was  looked  up  to  by  the  whole  literary  world 
and  his  judgment  respected  by  the  best  men  of  letters 
in  his  day. 

Also  in  the  year  1592,  Greene's  quondam  companion, 
Thomas  Nashe,  whom  the  poet,  Thomas  Lodge,  called 
"true  English  Aretine,"  published  his  '^Pierce  Penni- 
lesse,"  wherein  he  lauds  enthusiastically,  "brave  Tal- 
bot" in  the  play  of  Henry  the  VI.  Now  this  praise 
from  Nashe  was  the  unkindest  cut  of  all,  to  the  poor 
dying  Greene,  for  he  and  Nashe  had  held  merry  meet- 
ings and  Nashe's  first  published  article  came  out  in 
Greene's  Mentaphon  in  1589,  in  which  he  gibes  at  the 
author  of  Hamlet  as  follows: 

"An  Epistle  to  the  Gentlemen  Students  of  the 
Two  Universities,  by  Thomas  Nashe,"  prefixed 
to  the  first  edition  of  Robert  Greene's  "Mena- 
phon" — according  to  the  title-page,  published  in 
1589.  The  supposed  allusion  to  Shakespeare,  is 
in  the  words  following: 

"I  will  turn  back  to  my  first  text  of  studies 
of  delight,  and  talk  a  little  in  friendship  with  a 
few  of  our  trivial  translators.  It  is  a  common 
practice  now-a-days,  amongst  a  sort  of  shifting 
companions  that  run  through  every  art  and  thrive 

Ixviii 


by  none,  to  leave  the  trade  of  Noverint,  whereto 
they  were  born,  and  busy  themselves  with  the  en- 
deavours of  art,  that  could  scarcely  Latinize  their 
neck-verse  if  they  should  have  need  ;  yet  English 
Seneca,  read  by  candle-light,  yields  many  good 
sentences,  as  hloud  is  a  beggar,  and  so  forth;  and 
if  you  intreat  him  fair,  in  a  frosty  morning,  he 
will  afiford  you  whole  Hamlets;  I  should  say 
handfuls  of  tragical  speeches.  But  O  grief! 
Tempus  edax  rertim — what  is  that  will  last 
always?  The  sea  exhaled  by  drops  will  in  con- 
tinuance be  dry;  and  Seneca,  let  blood,  line  by 
line,  and  page  by  page,  at  length  must  needs  die 
to  our  stage." 

Greene,  like  the  old  poet  Hoccleve,  had  wasted  his  life 
in  excesses  of  all  kinds,  and  in  his  bitter  anguish  he 
hurled  reproaches  upon  his  former  associates.  As  for 
the  players,  he  called  them  "apes,"  "rude  grooms," 
"buckram  gentlemen,"  "peasants,"  "painted  monsters," 
^'burrs"  and  "Puppits  that  speak  from  our  mouths." 

But  there  was  one  more  repellant  to  Greene  than  all 
the  others;  an  unnamed  man  whom  he  calls  ''a?i  upstart 
Crow  with  his  Tiger's  heart  wrapt  in  a  player's  hide." 
Ill  Hen.  VI.  A.-I.-S-IV. 

Whetstone's  Metrical  Life  of  George  Gascoigne,  who 
died  I  i^yQ,  has  these  lines: 

For  who  can  bear  to  see  a  painted  crow 
Singing  aloft  when  Turtles  mourn  below. 

"Upstart  crow"  means  one  suddenly  raised. 
Wither  in  his  Juvenilia  calls  the  Poetasters 
"Crow-poets  and  Poetic-daws." 

All  Greene's  pricking  of  conscience  for  his  own  sins 
could  not  stifle  the  contempt  he  felt  for  this  suddenly 

Ixix 


raised  pretender.  Greene's  words  imply  that  the  of- 
fender was  masking  under  the  dress  of  a  player  and 
that  he  was  not  a  professional  actor.  Then  concentrat- 
ing all  his  energy  and  with  an  earnestness  that  cannot 
be  questioned  he  continues,  ''and  being  an  absolute 
Johannes  factotum,  is  in  his  owne  conceit  the  only 
Shake-scene  in  a  country.''  Greene  had  dipped  his  pen 
in  venom  and  may  have  felt  that  the  blast  he  had  dealt 
would  wither  the  reputation  of  the  man  he  so  hated. 
There  is  a  similarity  between  Shake-scene  and  Shakes- 
peare, which  cannot  be  ignored,  but  why  did  not 
Greene  (if  he  really  meant  Shakespeare)  call  him  Wil- 
helmus  factotum,  to  identify  him  more  clearly? 

''Factotum"  is  significant.  It  means  a  doer  of  all 
kinds  of  work  for  another — a  handy  deputy  in  fact. 
There  is  only  one  notable  and  historical  Johanne's  fac- 
totum I  can  call  to  mind,  who  literally  fills  the  role 
Greene  assigns  to  "Shake-scene,"  and  this  is  the  "peur 
Johannes"  of  the  celebrated  philosopher  Roger  Bacon, 
and  I  think  Robert  Greene  had  this  example  in  mind 
when  he  appellatively  used  it,  because  he  had  written 
before  his  illness,  a  comedy  on  "Friar  Bacon  and  Friar 
Bungay"  and  was  well  versed  in  the  writings  of  the 
ancients.  The  scenes  between  Friar  Bacon  and  his  man 
(whom  Greene  in  his  play  calls  Miles)  are  very  amus- 
ing, especially  those  relating  to  the  Brazen  Heajd- 

Friar  Bacon  and  Friar  Bungay,  entered  S.  R. 
14  May,  1594,  and  printed  the  same  year  as  writ- 
ten by  Greene  and  played  by  the  Queen's  men. 
These  were  presumably  the  original  owners  and 
may  have  sent  the  play  to  press.  Greene  may 
have  written  it  in  1589  when  St.  James'  Day  fell 

Ixx 


on  a  Friday.  .    .    .     Hens/oive's  Diary  edited  by 
Walter  IF.  Greg,  part  ii. 

The  real  Roger  Bacon  trusted  his  Johannes  factotum 
with  his  most  precious  and  secret  works  and  sent  the 
poor  obscure  youth  with  his  treasured  manuscripts  to 
Pope  Clement  IV  in  1267.  No  biography  of  this 
Johannes  is  known  but  like  Shakespeare  of  Stratford, 
he  was  friendless  and  poor.  Some  writers  have  called 
him  "John  of  London"  but  others  deny  this  identifica- 
tion. 

For  the  following  account  of  Roger  Bacon's  ''peiir 
Johannes,"  see  Fr.  Rogeri  Bacon  Ed.  by  J.  S.  Brewer, 
Lond.,  p.  87,  1859,  where  Brewer  says: 

"Among  his  more  illustrious  pupils  was  John 
of  London,  to  whom  nature  had  been  as  prodigal 
as  fortune  was  unkind.  Struck  with  the  genius 
that  dawned  in  the  countenance,  Bacon  took  the 
lad  under  his  protection,  being  then  fifteen  years 
old,  and  instructed  him  with  so  much  care  that 
he  outstripped  all  his  contemporaries  at  Oxford 
and  Paris.  He  was  sent  by  Bacon  with  various 
[three]  books  to  Clement  IV.  in  the  year  1267; 
and  he  is  mentioned  wath  great  commendation  on 
more  than  one  occasion:  "For  this  reason  I  cast 
"my  eyes  on  a  lad,  whom  I  caused  to  be  instructed 
"five  or  six  years  ago  in  the  languages,  in  mathe- 
"matics  and  optics,  wherein  is  the  chief  difficulty 
"of  all  that  I  have  now  sent  you.  I  have  gratuit- 
"ously  instructed  him  with  my  own  lips  since  the 
"time  I  received  your  mandate,  foreseeing  that 
"there  was  no  other,  whom  I  could  employ  with 
"so  much  satisfaction.  And  therefore  I  thought 
"I  would  despatch  him,  that  if  it  pleased  your 
"wisdom  to  use  my  messenger,  you  might  find 

Ixxi 


him  fit  for  the  purpose;  if  not,  he  might  still 
present  my  writings  to  your  eminence.  For  un- 
questionably there  is  not  any  one  among  the 
^'Latins  who  in  all  that  I  wish  'can  answer  so 
"many  questions  (because  of  the  method  that  I 
"pursue,  and  because  I  have  instructed  him),  as 
"he  can  do,  who  has  learnt  from  my  own  lips, 
"and  been  instructed  by  my  counsel. 

"God  is  my  witness,  that  had  it  not  been  for 
"your  reverence  and  to  your  advantage,  I  would 
"not  have  mentioned  him.  Had  I  wanted  to  send 
"a  person  for  my  own  profit,  I  could  easily  have 
"found  others  more  suited  for  advancing  my  in- 
^'terests;  had  I  consulted  the  advantage  of  the 
"messenger,  I  love  others  more,  and  am  more 
"obliged  to  them,  because  I  am  under  no  obliga- 
"tion  to  him,  either  from  kindred  or  otherwise, 
"except  so  far  as  I  am  to  any  ordinary  person; 
"even  less.  For  w^hen  he  came  to  me  as  a  poor 
"boy,  I  caused  him  to  be  nurtured  and  instructed 
"for  the  love  of  God,  especially  since  for  aptitude 
"and  innocence  I  never  found  so  towardly  a 
"youth.  He  has  made  such  progress,  that  he  will 
be  able  to  gain  more  truly  and  successfully  what 
is  needful,  than  anyone  else  at  Paris,  although 
he  is  not  more  than  twenty  or  twenty-one.  For 
"there  is  no  one  at  Paris  who  knows  so  much  of 
the  root  of  philosophy,  although  he  has  not  pro- 
duced the  branches,  flowers,  and  fruits,  because 
of  his  youth,  and  because  he  has  had  no  experi- 
"ence  in  teaching.  But  he  has  the  means  of  sur- 
"passing  all  the  Latins  if  he  live  to  grow  old,  and 
"proceeds  as  he  has  begun." 

"He  then  proceeds  to  praise  highly  the  courte- 
ous and  retiring  manners  of  this  youth,  and  to 
commend  him  for  other  good  qualities." 

Ixxii 


a: 
■II 


Brewer  adds: 

"I  may  state  here  in  reference  to  John  of  Lon- 
don, who  was  sent  on  these  occasions  to  Pope 
Clement,  that  both  for  Bacon's  sake  and  his  own 
merits  he  was  advanced  to  some  dignity,  though 
of  what  nature  I  cannot  determine.  Some  affirm 
that  he  lived  many  years  after  this,  and  was 
eminent  for  his  writings.  But  as  these  were 
produced  in  a  foreign  country,  no  notice  of  their 
contents  has  reached  us.  In  all  probability  they 
have  been  lost  in  Italy." 

The  w^ritings  of  this  traditional  Johannes  seem  to 
be  as  legendary  as  his  name.  Towards  the  end  of  his 
Groats  JVorth  of  TVit,  Greene  says : 

"Tread  on  a  worm  and  it  will  turn;  then 
blame  not  scollars,  who  are  vexed  with  sharpe 
and  bitter  lines,  if  they  reproove  too  much," 

and  adds: — 

"Weakness  will  scarce  suffer  me  to  write,  yet 
to  my  fellows  scollers  about  this  city  will  I 
direct  these  few  lines." 

How  did  the  gentle  Shakespeare  receive  Greene's 
peevish  lines?  In  Midsummer  Nighfs  Dream,  V.  {., 
Entered  by  Tho.  Fisher  in  the  Stationers'  Registers, 
Oct.  8,  1600,  I  like  to  think  in  the  lines  from  Spencer: 

".  .  .  That  same  gentle  spirit  from  whose  pen 
Large  streams  of  honey  and  sweet  nector  flow" 
alluded    to    the    death    of    Robert    Greene    in    these 
exquisite  lines: — 

"The  trice  three  Muses,  mourning  for  the  death 
Of  learning,  late  deceased  in  beggary." 

Ixxiii 


And    if    this    interpretation    be   true    I    agree   with 
Spencer: 

"A  gentler  shepheard  may  no  where  be  found : 
Whose  Muse  full  of  high  thoughts  invention 
Doth  like  himself  Heriocally  sound." 

Dyce,  in  his  Edition  of  Greene's  Works,  Vol.  I ,  has 
this: 

Account  of  R.  Greene. 
It  has  been  supposed  that  he  took  holy  orders. 
In  the  Lansdoivne  Manuscripts,  982,  art.  102, 
fol.  187,  under  the  head  of  "Additions  to  Mr. 
Wood's  Report  of  Mr.  Robert  Green,  an  emi- 
nent poet,  who  died  about  1592,"  is  a  reference  to 
a  document  in  Rymer's,  "Foedera,"  from  which 
it  appears  that  a  "Robert  Grene"  was,  in  1576, 
one  of  the  Queen's  chaplains,  and  that  he  was 
presented  by  her  Majesty  to  the  rectory  of  Walk- 
ington,  in  the  diocese  of  York.  If  this  document 
relates  to  the  poet,  his  birth  must  be  fixed  earlier 
than  1560.  The  late  Octavius  Gilchrist  states 
that  our  author  was  presented  to  the  vicarage  of 
Tollesbury,  in  Essex,  the  19th  June,  1584,  which 
he  resigned  the  next  year. 

"Anno  1576.  Regina,  delectis  Nobis  in  Christo,  De- 
cano  et  Capitulo  Ecclesiaenostrae  Cathedralis  et  Metro- 
politicae  Eboracensis,  aut  Vicario  suo  in  Spiritualibus 
Generali  et  Officiali  Principali,  aut  alii  cuicunque  in 
hac  parte  Potestatem  habenti,  Salutem. 

"Ad  Rectoriam  sive  Ecclesiam  Parochialem  de 
Walkington  Eboracen.  DiaBces.  per  mortem  Johannis 
Newcome  ultimi  Incumbentis  ibidem,  jam  vacantem  et 
ad  nostram  Donatinem  et  Praesentationem  pleno  jure 
spectantem,  Dilectum  nobis  in  Christo,  Robertum 
Grene,  unum  Capellanorum  nostrorum  Capell<£  nostras 
Regiae,  vobis  Tenore  Praesentium  prs  sentamus,  Man- 

Ixxiv 


dantcs  ct  Requi rentes  quatenus  eundem  Robertum 
Grene  ad  Rectoriam  sive  Ecclesiam  Parochialem  de 
Walkington  prsdictam  admittere,  ipsumque  Rectorem 
ejusdem  ac  in  et  de  eadem  cum  suis  Juribus  et  Perti- 
nentiis  universis  instituere  et  investire,  caeteraque  omnia 
et  singula  peragere  facere  et  perimplere,  quae  vestro  in 
hac  parte  incumbunt  Officio  Pastorali,  velitis  cum 
favore.     In  cujus  rei,  &c. 

"Teste  Regina  apud  Gorhambury  tricesimo  primo 
die  Augusti. 

"Per  breve  de  Private  Sigillo." — Rymer's  Foedera, 
torn.  XV.  p.  765. 

That  is:  Year  1576.  The  Queen  having  been 
chosen  in  Christ,  to  the  Dean  and  head  of  our 
Cathedral  and  Metropolitan  Church  of  York, 
or  to  his  vicor,  in  his  general  and  official  ca- 
pasity  in  Spiritual  affairs,  or  to  any  one  else 
having  power  in  this  Sphere — greeting. 

For  the  rectory  or  parish  church  of  Walk- 
ington in  the  diocese  of  York,  now  left  vacant 
through  the  death  of  John  Newcome,  the  last 
incumbent  of  the  same,  and  looking  most  rightly 
to  our  gift  and  presentation,  we  do  present  to 
you,  in  view  of  the  state  of  present  affairs, 
Robert  Greene,  chosen  by  us  in  Christ  one  of  our 
chaplains  of  our  Royal  Chapel,  ordering  and 
asking  that  you  be  pleased  with  good-will  to  ad- 
mit the  same  Robert  Greene  to  the  rectory  or 
parish  church  of  the  Walkington  aforesaid,  and 
to  establish  and  invest  him  as  rector  of  the  same 
with  all  the  rights  and  privileges  in  and  of  the 
same,  and  that  you  perform,  accomplish  and 
complete  both  collectively  and  singly  all  the 
other  things  which  fall  to  your  pastoral  duty  in 
this  connection. 

Ixxv 


In  [witness]  of  which  thing  &c. 
The  Queen  having  witness  at  Gorhambury  on 
the  thirty-first  day  of  August. 
Per  breve.     By  her  private  seal. 

Per  breve  may  be  a  legal  term.  According  to  Cen- 
tury Dictionary,  Breve  is  still  used  of  a  royal  mandate, 
so  I  venture  "by  her  royal  mandate." 

The  following  excerpts  are  from  Greene's  Comedy 
Friar  Bacon  and  Friar  Bungay. 

Enter  Friar  Bacon,  with  Miles,  his  poor 
scholar,  with  books  under  his  arm;  with  them 
Burden,  Mason,  Clement,  three  doctors. 

Bacon.     Miles,  where  are  you? 

Miles.  Hie  sum,  doctissime  et  reverendis- 
sime  doctor. 

Bacon.  Attulisti  nos  libros  meos  de  necro- 
mantia? 

Miles.  Ecce  quam  bonum  et  quam  jucun- 
dum  habitare  libros  in  unum. 

Bacon.     Now,  masters  of  our  academic  state. 

That  rule  in  Oxford,  viceroys  in  your  place, 

Whose  heads  contain  maps  of  the  liberal  arts. 

Spending  your  time  in  depth  of  learned  skill, 

Why  flock  you  thus  to  Bacon's  secret  cell, 

A  friar  newly  stall'd  in  Brazen-nose? 

Say  what's  your  mind,  that  I  may  make  reply. 

Burd.  Bacon,  we  hear  that  long  we  have  sus- 
pect. 

That  thou  art  read  in  magic's  mystery. 

In  Pyromancy,  to  divine  by  flames; 

To  tell  by  Hydromatic,  ebbs  and  tides; 

By  Aeromancy  to  discover  doubts. 

To  plain  out  questions  as  Apollo  did. 

Bacon.  Well,  master  Burden,  what  of  all 
this? 

Ixxvi 


Miles.  Marry,  sir,  he  doth  but  fulfil,  by  re- 
hearsing of  these  names,  the  fable  of  the  Fox  and 
the  Grapes;  that  which  is  above  us  pertains 
nothing  to  us. 

Burd.     I    tell    thee,    Bacon,    Oxford    makes 

report, 
Nay,  England,  and  the  Court  of  Henry  says, 
Th'art  making  of  a  brazen  head  by  art, 
Which  shall  unfold  strange  doubts  and  aphor- 
isms, 
And  read  a  lecture  in  philosophy: 
And  by  the  help  of  devils  and  ghastly  fiends, 
Thou  mean'st  ere  many  years  or  days  be  past. 
To  compass  England  with  a  wall  of  brass. 
Bacon.     And  what  of  this? 
Miles.     What  of  this,  master?    Why  he  doth 
speak  mystically,  for  he  knows  if  your  skill  fail 
to   make  a   brazen   head,   yet  mother   Water's 
strong  ale  will  fit  his  turn  to  make  him  have  a 
copper  nose. 
Clem.     Bacon,  we  come  not  grieving  at  thy 

skill. 
But  joying  that  our  academy  yields 
A  man  supposed  the  wonder  of  the  world; 
For  if  thy  cunning  work  these  miracles, 
England  and  Europe  shall  admire  thy  fame, 
And  Oxford  shall  in  characters  of  brass, 
And  statues,  such  as  were  built  up  in  Rome, 
Eternize  Friar  Bacon  for  his  art. 
Mason.     Then,  gentle  friar,  tell  us  thy  intent. 
Bacon.     Seeing  you  come  as  friends  unto  the 

friar, 
Resolve  you,  doctors,  Bacon  can  by  books. 
Make  storming  Boreas  thunder  from  his  cave, 
And  dim  fair  Luna  to  a  dark  eclipse. 
The  great  arch-ruler,  potentate  of  hell. 
Trembles  when  Bacon  bids  him,  or  his  fiends, 

Ixxvii 


Bow  to  the  force  of  his  Pentageron. 
What  art  can  work,  the  frolic  friar  knows, 
And  therefore  will  I  turn  magic  books, 
And  strain  out  necromancy  to  the  deep. 
I  have  contriv'd  and  fram'd  a  head  of  brass, 

(I  made  Belcephon  hammer  out  the  stufT) 
And  that  by  art  shall  read  philosophy; 
And  I  will  strengthen  England  by  my  skill. 
That  if  ten  Caesars  liv'd  and  reign'd  in  Rome, 
With  all  the  legions  Europe  doth  contain. 
They  should   not  touch   a  grass  of   English 

ground. 
The  work  that  Ninus  rear'd  at  Babylon, 
The  brazen  walls  fram'd  by  Semiramis, 
Carv'd  out  like  to  the  portal  of  the  sun. 
Shall  not  be  such  as  rings  the  English  strond, 
From  Dover  to  the  market  place  of  Rye. 
Burd.     Is  this  possible? 
Miles.     I'll  bring  ye  two  or  three  witnesses. 
Burd.     What  be  those? 

Miles.     Marry,  sir,  three  or  four  as  honest 
devils,  and  good  companions  as  any  be  in  hell. 
Mason.     No  doubt  but  magic  may  do  much 

in  this, 
For  he  that  reads  but  mathematic  rules. 
Shall  find  conclusions  that  avail  to  work 
Wonders  that  pass  the  common  sense  of  men. 
Burd.     But  Bacon  roves  a  bow  beyond  his 

reach. 
And  tells  of  more  than  magic  can  perform; 
Thinking  to  get  a  fame  by  fooleries. 
Have  I  not  pass'd  as  far  in  state  of  schools, 
And  read  of  many  secrets?  yet  to  think. 
That  heads  of  brass  can  utter  any  voice, 
Or  more,  to  tell  of  deep  philosophy, 

•  This  is  a  fable  Aesop  had  forgot. 

Ixxviii 


Bacon.     Burden,  thou  wrong'st  me  in  detract- 
ing thus; 

Bacon  loves  not  to  stuff  hiself  with  lies: 

But  tell  me  'fore  these  doctors,  if  thou  dare, 

Of  certain  questions  I  shall  move  to  thee. 

Burd.     I  will:   ask  what  thou  can. 

Miles.  Marry,  sir,  he'll  straight  be  on  your 
pickpack,  to  know  whether  the  feminine  or  the 
masculine  gender  be  most  worthy. 

Bacon.  Were  you  not  yesterday,  master  Bur- 
den, at  Henley  upon  the  Thames? 

Burd.     I  was;  what  then? 

Bacon.  What  book  studied  you  thereon  all 
night? 

Burd.     I?  none  at  all ;  I  read  not  there  a  line. 

Bacon.  Then,  doctors,  friar  Bacon's  art 
knows  nought. 

Clem.  What  say  you  to  this,  master  Burden? 
does  he  not  touch  you? 

Burd.     I  pass  not  of  his  frivolous  speeches. 

Miles.  Nay,  master  Burden,  my  master,  ere 
he  hath  done  with  you,  will  turn  you  from  a  doc- 
tor to  a  dunce,  and  shake  you  so  small,  that  he 
will  leave  no  more  learning  in  you  than  is  in 
Balaam's  ass. 

Bacon.     Masters'   for  that  learn'd   Burden's 
skill  is  deep, 

And  sore  he  doubts  of  Bacon's  cabalism, 
I'll  show  you  why  he  haunts  to  Henley  oft: 
Not,  doctors,  for  to  taste  the  fragrant  air. 
But  there  to  spend  the  night  in  alchemy, 
To  multiply  with  secret  spells  of  art, 
Thus  private  steals  he  learning  from  us  all. 
To    prove   my   sayings    true,    I'll    shew   you 

straight, 
The  book  he  keeps  at  Henley  for  himself. 


Ixxix 


Miles.  Nay,  now  my  master  goes  to  conjura- 
tion, take  heed. 

Bacon.  Masters,  stand  still,  fear  not,  I'll 
shew  you  but  his  book.  (Here  he  conjures.) 

Per  omnes  deos  infernales,  Belcephon! 
Enter  a  WOMAN  with  a  shoulder  of  a  mutton 
on  a  spit,  and  a  Devil. 

Miles.  O,  master,  cease  your  conjuration,  or 
you  spoil  all,  for  here's  a  she  devil  come  with  a 
shoulder  of  mutton  on  a  spit:  you  have  marred 
the  devil's  supper,  but  no  doubt  he  thinks  our 
college  fare  is  slender,  and  so  has  sent  you  his 
cook  with  a  shoulder  of  mutton,  to  make  it  ex- 
ceed. 

Hostess.  Oh,  where  am  I,  or  what's  become 
of  me? 

Bacon.     What  art  thou? 

Hostess.  Hostess  at  Henley,  mistress  of  the 
Bell. 

Bacon.     How  cam'st  thou  here? 

Hostess.  As  I  was  in  the  kitchen  'mongst  the 
_  maids. 

Spitting  the  meat  'gainst  supper  for  my  guess, 

A  motion  mov'd  me  to  look  forth  of  door : 

No  sooner  had  I  pry'd  into  the  yard. 

But  straight  a  whirlwind  hoisted  from  thence, 

And  mounted  me  aloft  unto  the  clouds. 

As  in  a  trance  I  thought  nor  feared  nought. 

Nor  know  I  where  or  whither  I  was  ta'en. 

Nor  where  I  am,  nor  what  these  persons  be. 

Bacon.     No?  know  you  not  master  Burden? 

Hostess.    O  yes,  good  sir,  he  is  my  daily  guest. 

What,  master  Burden,  'twas  but  yesternight. 

That  you  and  I  at  Henley  play'd  at  cards. 

Burd.  I  know  not  what  we  did.  A  pox  of 
all  conjuring  friars. 

Ixxx 


Clem.     Now,  jolly  friar,  tell  us,  is  this  the 

book 
That  Burden  is  so  careful  to  look  on? 
Bacon.     It  is;  but,  Burden,  tell  me  now, 
Think'st  thou  that  Bacon's  necromantic  skill 
Cannot  perform  his  head  and  wall  of  brass 
When  he  can  fetch  thy  hostess  in  such  post? 
Miles.     I'll  warrant  you,   master,   if   master 
Burden  could  conjure  as  well  as  you,  he  would 
have  his  book  every  night  from  Henley  to  study 
on  at  Oxford. 
Mason.     Burden, 

What,  are  you  mated  by  this  frolic  friar? 
Look  how  he  droops;  his  guilty  conscience 
Drives  him  to  'bash,  and  makes  his  hostess 

blush. 
Bacon.     Well,  mistress,  for  I  will  not  have 

you  miss'd. 
You  shall  to  Henley  to  cheer  up  your  guests 
'Fore  supper  'gin.     Burden,  bid  her  adieu: 
Say  farewell  to  your  hostess  'fore  she  goes. 
Sirrah,  away,  and  set  her  safe  at  home. 
Hostess.     Master  Burden,  when  shall  we  see 
you  at  Henley? 

(Exeunt  Hostess  and  the  Devil.) 
Burd.  The  devil  take  thee  and  Henley,  too. 
Miles.  Master,  shall  I  make  a  good  motion? 
Bacon.     What's  that? 

Miles.     Marry,  sir,   now  that  my  hostess   is 
gone    to    provide    supper,    conjure   up    another 
spirit,  and  send  doctor  Burden  flying  after. 
Bacon.     Thus  rulers  of  our  academic  state, 
You   have   seen   the   friar   frame  his  art  by 

proof; 
And  as  the  college  called  Brazen-nose, 
Is  under  him,  and  he  the  master  there. 
So  surely  shall  this  head  of  brass  be  fram'd, 

Ixxxi 


And  yield  forth  strange  and  uncouth  aphor- 
isms : 
And  hell  and  Hecate  shall  fail  the  friar, 
But  I  will  circle  England  round  with  brass. 
Miles.     So  be  it,  et  nunc  et  semper;  amen. 

(Exeunt  omnes.) 
*         *         *         * 

Emp.     Where  is  the  prince,  my  lord? 

Hen.     He  posted  down,  not  long  since,  from 

the  court. 
To  Sufifolk  side,  to  merry  Framlingham, 
To  sport  himself  amongst  my  fallow  deer: 
From  thence,  by  packets  sent  to  Hampton- 
house, 
We  hear  the  prince  is  ridden  with  his  lords, 
To  Oxford,  in  the  academy  there 
To  hear  dispute  amongst  the  learned  men. 
But  we  will  send  forth  letters  for  my  son. 
To  will  him  come  from  Oxford  to  the  court. 
Emp.     Nay,  rather,  Henry,  let  us  as  we  be, 
Ride  for  to  visit  Oxford  with  our  train. 
Fain  would  I  see  your  universities, 
And  what  learn'd  men  your  academy  yields. 
From   Hapsburg  have   I  brought  a  learned 

clerk. 
To  hold  dispute  with  English  orators: 
This  doctor,  surnam'd  Jaques  Vandermast, 
A  German  born,  pass'd  into  Padua, 
To  Florence  and  to  fair  Bologna, 
To  Paris,  Rheims,  and  stately  Orleans, 
And,  talking  there  with  men  of  art,  put  down 
The  chiefest  of  them  all  in  aphorisms. 
In  magic,  and  the  mathematic  rules: 
Now  let  us,  Henry,  try  him  in  your  schools. 
Hen.     He  shall,  my  lord;  this  motion  likes 
me  well. 

Ixxxii 


We'll  progress  straight  to  Oxford  with  our 

trains, 
And  see  what  men  our  academy  brings. 
And,  wonder  Vandermast,  welcome  to  me : 
In  Oxford  shalt  thou  find  a  jolly  friar, 
Caird  Friar  Bacon,  England's  only  flower. 
Set  him  but  nonplus  in  his  magic  spells. 
And  make  him  yield  in  mathematic  rules, 
And  for  thy  glory  I  will  bind  thy  brows. 
Not  with  a  poet's  garland,  made  of  bays. 
But  with  a  coronet  of  choicest  gold. 
Whilst  then  we  set  to  Oxford  with  our  troops, 
Let's  in  and  banquet  in  our  English  court.    ' 

(Exeunt.) 

*         *         *         * 

Enter  Bacon  and  Miles. 

Erms.    Stay,  who  comes  here? 

War.  Some  scholar;  and  we'll  ask  him  where 
friar  Bacon  is. 

Bacon.  Why,  thou  arrant  dunce,  shall  I 
never  make  thee  a  good  scholar?  doth  not  all  the 
town  cry  out  and  say,  friar  Bacon's  subsizer  is 
the  greatest  blockhead  in  all  Oxford?  Why  thou 
canst  not  speak  one  word  of  true  Latin. 

Miles.  No,  sir?  yet,  what  is  this  else;  "Ego 
sum  tuus  homo,"  I  am  your  man  :  I  warrant  you, 
sir,  as  good  Tully's  phrase  as  any  is  in  Oxford. 

Bacon.  Come  on,  sirrah ;  what  part  of  speech 
is  Ego? 

Miles.  Ego,  that  is  I :  marry,  nomen  sub- 
stantivo. 

Bacon.     How  prove  you  that? 

Miles.  Why,  sir,  let  him  prove  himself  and 
a'  will;  I  can  be  heard,  felt,  and  understood. 

Bacon.     O  gross  dunce!         (Here  beat  him.) 

Edw.     Come,  let  us  break  ofT  this  dipute  be- 

Ixxxiii 


tween  these  two.     Sirrah,  where  is  Brazen-nose 
college? 

Miles.     Not  far  from  Coppersmith's  Hall. 

Edw.     What,  dost  thou  mock  me? 

Miles.  Not  I,  sir;  but  what  would  you  at 
Brazen-nose? 

Erms.  Marry,  we  would  speak  with  Friar 
Bacon. 

Miles.     Whose  men  be  you? 

Erms.     Marry,  scholar,  here's  our  master. 

Ralph.  Sirrah,  I  am  the  master  of  these  good 
fellows;  mayest  thou  not  know  me  to  be  a  lord 
by  my  reparrel? 

Miles.  Then  here's  good  game  for  the  hawk; 
for  here's  the  master  fool,  and  a  covey  of  cox- 
combs :  one  wise  man,  I  think,  would  spring  you 
all. 

Edw.     Gog's  wounds!    Warren,  kill  him. 

War.  Why,  Ned,  I  think  the  devil  be  in  my 
sheath ;  I  cannot  get  out  my  dagger. 

Erms.  Nor  I  mine:  swones,  Ned,  I  think  I 
am  bewitched. 

Miles.  A  company  of  scabs!  the  proudest  of 
you  all  draw  your  weapon  if  he  can.  See  how 
boldly  I  speak  now  my  master  is  by. 

Edw.   I  strive  in  vain ;  but  if  my  sword  is  shut^ 

And  conjured  fast  by  magic  in  my  sheath, 

Villain,  here  is  my  fist. 

(Strike  him  a  box  on  the  ear.) 

Miles.     Oh!  I  beseech  you  conjure  his  hands,' 
too,  that  he  may  not  lift  his  arms  to  his  head,  for 
he  is  light-fingered. 

Ralph.  Ned,  strike  him;  I'll  warrant  thee 
by  mine  honour. 

Bacon.  What  means  the  English  prince  to 
wrong  my  man? 

Ixxxiv 


Edw.     To  whom  speak'st  thou? 

Bacon.     To  thee. 

Edw.     Who  art  thou? 

Bacon.     Could  you  not  judge,  when  all  your 
swords  grew  fast, 
That  Friar  Bacon  was  not  far  from  hence? 
Edward,    King    Henry's    son,    and    Prince    of 

Wales, 
Thy  fool  disguis'd  cannot  conceal  thyself: 
I  know  both  Ermsby  and  the  Sussex  Earl, 
Else  friar  Bacon  had  but  little  skill. 
Thou  com'st  in  post  from  merry  Fressingfield, 
Fast  fancied  to  the  keeper's  bonnie  lass. 
To  crave  some  succour  from  the  jolly  friar; 
And  Lacy,  Earl  of  Lincoln,  hast  thou  left. 
To  'treat  fair  Margaret  to  allow  thy  loves: 
But  friends  are  men,  and  love  can  baffle  lords; 
The  earl  both  woos  and  courts  her  for  himself. 

War.  Ned,  this  is  strange;  the  friar  knoweth 
all. 

Erms.     Apollo  could  not  utter  more  than  this. 

Edw.     I  stand  amaz'd  to  hear  this  jolly  friar. 
Tell  even  the  very  secrets  of  my  thoughts.  - 
But,  learned  Bacon,  since  thou  know'st  the  cause, 
Why  I  did  post  so  fast  from  Fressingfield, 
Help,  friar,  at  a  pinch,  that  I  may  have 
The  love  of  lovely  Margaret  to  myself. 
And,  as  I  am  true  Prince  of  Wales,  Pll  give 
Living  and  lands  to  strengthen  thy  college  state. 

War.     Good  friar,  help  the  prince  in  this. 

Ralph.  Why,  servant  Ned,  will  not  the  friar 
do  it?  Were  not  my  sword  glued  to  my  scab- 
bard by  conjuration,  I  would  cut  ofif  his  head, 
and  make  him  do  it  by  force. 

Miles.  In  faith,  my  lord,  your  manhood  and 
your  sword  is  all  alike;  they  are  so  fast  conjured 
that  we  shall  never  see  them. 

Ixxxv 


Erms.     What,  doctor,  in  a  dump!   tush,  help 
the  prince, 
And  thou  shait  see  how  liberal  he  will  prove. 

Bacon.    Crave  not  such  actions  greater  dumps 
than  these? 
I  will,  my  lord,  strain  out  my  magic  spells, 
For  this  day  comes  the  earl  to  Fressingfield, 
And  'fore  that  night  shuts  in  the  day  with  dark, 
Thev'll  be  betrouthed  each  to  other  fast. 
But  come  with  me,  we'll  to  my  study  straight. 
And  in  a  glass  prospective  I  will  shew 
What's  done  this  day  in  merry  Fressingfield. 

Edw.  Gramercies,  Bacon;  I  will  quite  thy 
pain. 

Bacon.     But  send  your  train,  my  lord,  into  the 
town : 
My  scholar  shall  go  bring  them  to  their  inn; 
Meanwhile  we'll  see  the  knavery  of  the  earl. 

Edw.     Warren,  leave  me,  and  Ermsby  take 
the  fool ; 
Let  him  be  master,  and  go  revel  it, 
Till  I  and  friar  Bacon  talk  awhile. 

War.     We  will,  my  lord. 

Ralph.  Faith,  Ned,  and  I'll  lord  it  out  till 
thou  comest:  Fll  be  Prince  of  Wales  over  all 
the  black  pots  in  Oxford.  (Exeunt) 

BACON  and  EDWARD  go  into  the  study. 

Bacon.     Now,  frolic  Edward,  welcome  to  my 
cell ; 
Here  tempers  friar  Bacon  many  toys. 
And  holds  this  place  his  consistory  court, 
Wherein  the  devils  plead  homage  to  his  words. 
Within  this  glass  prospective  thou  shalt  see 
This  day  what's  done  in  merry  Fressingfield, 
Twixt  lovely  Peggy  and  the  Lincoln  Earl. 

Edw.     Friar,   thou  glad'st  me:     Now  shall 
Edward  try 

Ixxxvi 


How  Lacy  meaneth  to  his  sovereign  lord. 

Bacon.     Stand  there  and  look  directly  in  the 
glass. 

Enter  MARGARET  and  Friar  BUNGAY. 

Bacon.     What  sees  my  lord? 

Edw.     I  see  the  keeper's  lovely  lass  appear, 
As  brightsome  as  the  paramour  of  Mars, 
Only  attended  by  a  jolly  friar. 

Bacon.     Sit  still  and  keep  the  crystal  in  your 

eye. 

*         *         *         * 

Enter  BACON 

Bacon.    All  hail  to  this  royal  company. 
That  sit  to  hear  and  see  this  strange  dispute. 
Bungay,  how  stand'st  thou  as  a  man  amaz'd? 
What,  hath  the  German  acted  more  than  thou? 

Van.     What  art  thou  that  question  thus? 

Bacon.     Men  call  me  Bacon. 

Van.     Lordly  thou  look'st,  as  if  that  thou  wert 
learn'd; 
Thy  countenance  as  if  science  held  her  seat 
Between  the  circled  arches  of  thy  brows. 


* 


Enter  Friar  BACON,  drawing  the  curtains,  with  a 
white  stick,  a  book  in  his  hand,  and  a  lamp  lighted  by 
him;  and  the  Brazen  Head,  and  Miles,  with  weapons 
by  him. 

Bacon.     Miles,  where  are  vou? 
Miles.     Here,  sir. 

Bacon.     How  chance  you  tarry  so  long? 
Miles.     Think  you  that  watching  of  the  Braz- 
en Head  craves  no  furniture?     I  warrant  you, 
sir,  I  have  so  armed  myself,  that  if  all  your  dev- 
ils come,  I  will  not  fear  them  an  inch. 

Bacon.     Miles, 
Thou  know'st  that  I  have  dived  into  hell. 
And  sought  the  darkest  palaces  of  fiends. 


ixxxvu 


That  with  my  magic  spells  great  Belcephon 
Hath  left  his  lodge  and  kneeled  at  my  cell : 
The  rafters  of  the  earth  rent  from  the  poles, 
And  three-form'd  Luna  hid  her  silver  looks, 
Trembling  upon  her  concave  continent, 
When  Bacon  read  upon  his  magic  book. 
With  seven  years  tossing  necromantic  charms. 
Poring  upon  dark  Hecat's  principles, 
I  have  fram'd  out  a  monstrous  head  of  brass. 
That  by  the  enchanting  forces  of  the  devil. 
Shall  tell  out  strange  and  uncouth  aphorisms. 
And  girt  fair  England  vv^ith  a  wall  of  brass. 
Bungay  and  I  have  watch'd  these  threescore  days, 
And  now  our  vital  spirits  crave  some  rest: 
If  Argus  liv'd,  and  had  his  hundred  eyes, 
They  could  not  over-watch  Phobetor's  night. 
Now,  Miles,  in  thee  rests  Friar  Bacon's  Weal: 
The  honour  and  renown  of  all  his  life 
Hangs  in  the  watching  of  this  Brazen  Head; 
Therefore  I  charge  thee  by  the  immortal  God, 
That  holds  the  souls  of  men  within  his  fist. 
This  night  thou  watch ;  for  ere  the  morning  star 
Sends  out  his  glorious  glister  on  the  north. 
The  head  will  speak;  then,  Miles,  upon  thy  life, 
Wake  me;  for  then  by  magic  art  I'll  work, 
To  end  my  seven  years'  task  with  excellence. 
If  that  a  wink  but  shut  thy  watchful  eye. 
Then  farewell  Bacon's  glory  and  his  fame! 
Draw  close  the  curtains,  Miles :  now  for  thy  life, 
Be  watchful  and —        (Here  he  falleth  asleep.) 

Miles.  So;  I  thought  you  would  talk  your- 
self asleep  anon,  and  'tis  no  marvel,  for  Bungay 
on  the  days,  and  he  on  the  nights,  have  watched 
just  these  ten  and  fifty  days :  now  this  is  the 
night,  and  'tis  my  task  and  no  more.  Now, 
Jesus  bless  me!  what  a  goodly  Head  it  is  and  a 
nose!     You  talk  of  nos  autem  glorificare;  but 

Ixxxviii 


here's  a  nose,  that  1  warrant  may  be  called  n(3S 
autem  populare  for  the  people  of  the  parish. 
Well,  I  am  furnished  with  weapons:  now,  sir, 
I  will  set  me  down  by  a  post,  and  make  it  as 
good  as  a  watchman  to  wake  me  if  I  chance  to 
slumber.  I  thought,  goodman  Head,  I  would 
call  you  out  of  your  memento.  Passion  a'  God, 
I  have  almost  broke  my  pate!  Up,  Miles,  to  your 
task;  take  your  brown  bill  in  your  hand,  here's 
some  of  your  master's  hobgoblins  abroad. 

(With  this  a  great  noise.) 
The  HEAD  speaks. 

Head,     Time  is. 

Miles.  Time  is!  Why,  master  Brazen-head, 
have  you  such  a  capital  nose,  and  answer  you 
with  syllables.  Time  is?  is  this  all  your  master's 
cunning,  to  spend  seven  years'  study  about  Time 
is?  Well,  sir,  it  may  be,  we  shall  have  some  bet- 
ter orations  of  it  anon:  well,  I'll  watch  you  as 
narrowly  as  ever  you  were  watched,  and  I'll  play 
with  you  as  the  nightingale  with  the  glow-worm ; 
I'll  set  a  prick  against  my  breast.  Now  rest 
there.  Miles.  Lord  have  mercy  upon  me,  I  have 
almost  killed  myself!  Up,  Miles,  list  how  they 
rumble. 

Head.     Time  was. 

Miles.  Well,  Friar  Bacon,  you  have  spent 
your  seven  years  study  well,  that  can  make  your 
Head  speak  but  two  words  at  once.  Time  was. 
Yea  marry,  time  was  when  my  master  was  a  wise 
man,  but  that  was  before  he  began  to  make  the 
Brazen  Head.  You  shall  lie  while  your  *  *  * 
ache,  and  your  Head  speak  no  better.  Well,  I 
will  watch  and  walk  up  and  down,  and  be  a  peri- 
patetian  and  a  philosopher  of  Aristotle's  stamp. 
W^hat!  a  fresh  noise?  Take  thy  pistols  in  hand 
Miles. 

Ixxxix 


(Here  the  Head  speaks,  and  a  lightning  flash- 
eth  forth,  and  a  hand  appears  that  break- 
eth  down  the  Head  with  a  hammer.) 

Head.     Time  is  past. 

Miles.  Master!  master!  up,  hell's  broken 
loose!  your  Head  speaks!  and  there's  such  a 
thunder  and  lightning,  that  I  warrant  all  Ox- 
ford is  up  in  arms.  Out  of  your  bed,  and  take  a 
brown  bill  in  your  hand ;  the  latter  day  is  come. 

Bacon.     Miles,   I   come.     O  passing  warily 
watch'd! 
Bacon  will  make  thee  next  himself  in  love. 
When  spake  the  Head? 

Miles.  When  spake  the  head!  did  not  you 
say  that  he  should  tell  strange  principles  of  phi- 
losophy? Why,  sir,  it  speaks  but  two  words  at 
a  time. 

Bacon.    Why,  villain,  hath  it  spoken  oft? 

Mile.  Oft!  ay  marry  hath  it,  thrice;  but  in 
all  those  three  times  it  hath  uttered  but  seven 
words. 

Bacon.     As  how? 

Miles.  Marry  sir,  the  first  time  he  said.  Time 
is,  as  if  Fabius  Commentator  should  have  pro- 
nounced a  sentence;  (the  second  time)  he  said. 
Time  was;  and  the  third  time,  with  thunder  and 
lightning,  as  in  great  choler,  he  said,  Time  is 
past. 

Bacon.    'Tis  past,  indeed.     Ah,  villain!   time 
is  past: 
My  life,  my  fame,  my  glory,  all  are  past. 
Bacon,  the  turrets  of  thy  hope  are  ruin'd  down, 
Thy  seven  years'  study  lieth  in  the  dust: 
Thy  Brazen  Head  lies  broken  through  a  slave, 
That  watch'd,  and  would  not  when  the  Head 

did  will. 
What  said  the  Head  first? 


xc 


Miles.    Even,  sir,  Time  is. 

Bacon.     Villain!    if  thou  had'st  calTd  to  Ba- 
con then, 
If  thou  had'st  watchM,   and   wak'd   the  sleepy- 
friar. 
The  Brazen  Head  had  utter'd  aphorisms, 
And  England  had  been  circled  round  with  brass : 
But  proud  Astmenoth,  ruler  of  the  north, 
And  Demogorgon,  master  of  the  fates, 
Grudge  that  a  mortal  man  should  work  so  much. 
Hell  trembled  at  my  dep  commanding  spells. 
Fiends  f  rown'd  to  see  a  man  their  over-match : 
Bacon  might  boast  more  than  a  man  might  boast; 
But  now  the  braves  of  Bacon  have  an  end, 
Europe's  conceit  of  Bacon  hath  an  end, 
His  seven  years'  practice  sorteth  to  ill  end; 
And,  villain,  sith  my  glory  hath  an  end, 
I  will  appoint  thee  to  some  fatal  end. 
Villain,  avoid!  get  thee  from  Bacon's  sight: 
Vagrant,  go  roam  and  range  about  the  world, 
And  perish  as  a  vagabond  on  earth! 

Miles.  Why  then,  sir,  you  forbid  me  your 
service. 

Bacon.     My   service?    villain!    with   a  fatal 
curse. 
That  direful  plagues  and  mischiefs  fall  on  thee. 

Miles.  'Tis  no  matter,  I  am  against  you  with 
the  old  proverb,  the  more  the  fox  is  cursed,  the 
better  he  fares.  God  be  with  you,  sir:  I'll  take 
but  a  book  in  my  hand,  a  wide-sleeved  gown  on 
my  back,  and  a  crowned  cap  on  my  head,  and 
see  if  I  can  want  promotion.  (Exit. 

Bacon.     Some  fiend  or  ghost  haunt  on  thy 
weary  steps. 
Until  they  do  transport  thee  quick  to  hell : 


XCl 


For  Bacon  shall  have  never  merry  day, 
To  lose  the  fame  and  honour  of  his  Head. 

(Exit. 


*         *         * 


Enter  BACON  with  FRIAR  BUNGAY 

to  his  cell. 
Bun.     What  means  the  friar  that  frolicked  it 
of  late, 
To  sit  as  melancholy  in  his  cell. 
As  if  he  had  neither  lost  nor  w^on  to-day? 

Bacon.     Ah,    Bungay,    my    Brazen    Head    is 
spoil'd. 
My  glory  gone,  my  seven  years'  study  lost! 
The  fame  of  Bacon  bruited  through  the  world. 
Shall  end  and  perish  with  this  deep  disgrace. 
Bun.      Bacon   hath   built   foundation   of   his 
fame. 
So  surely  on  the  wings  of  true  report. 
With  acting  strange  and  uncouth  miracles, 
As  this  cannot  infringe  what  he  deserves. 

Bacon.    Bungay,  sit  down,  for  my  prospective 
skill, 
I  find  this  day  shall  fall  out  ominous. 
Some  deadly  act  shall  'tide  me  ere  I  sleep; 
But  what  and  wherein  little  can  I  guess. 

Bun.     My   mind   is   heavy,   whatsoe'er   shall 
hap.  (Knock. 

Bacon.     Who's  that  knocks? 
Bun.     Two  scholars  that  desire  to  speak  with 
you. 

Bacon.     Bid  them  come  in. 
Enter  two  SCHOLARS,  sons  to  Lambert 

and  Serlsby. 
Now,  my  youths,  what  would  you  have? 

First   Scho.     Sir,   we   are   Suffolk  men,   and 
neighboring  friends. 
Our  fathers  in  their  countries  lusty  squires: 


xcii 


Their  lands  adjoin;  in  Cratfield  mine  doth  dwell, 
And  his  in  Laxtield.    We  are  college  mates, 
Sworn  brothers,  as  our  fathers  live  as  friends. 

Bacon.     To  what  end  is  all  this? 

Second   Scho.     Hearing  your   worship   kept 

within  your  cell 

A  glass  prospective,  wherein  men  might  see, 

What  so  their  thoughts,  or  hearts'  desire  could 

wish, 

We  come  to  know  how  that  our  fathers  fare. 

Bacon.    My  glass  is  free  for  every  honest  man. 
«        «        *        * 

(He  breaks  his  glass.) 
Bun.     What   means    learn'd    Bacon    thus   to 

break  his  glass? 
Bacon.  I  tell  thee,  Bungay,  it  repents  me  sore, 
That  ever  Bacon  meddled  in  this  art. 
The  hours  I  have  spent  in  pyromantic  spells, 
The  fearful  tossing  in  the  latest  night 
Of  papers  full  of  necromantic  charms. 
Conjuring  and  adjuring  devils  and  fiends. 
With  stole  and  albe,  and  strange  pentageron; 
The  wresting  of  the  holy  name  of  God, 
As  Sother,  Eloim,  and  Adonai. 
Alpha,  Manoth,  and  Tetragrammaton, 
With  praying  to  the  five-fold  powers  of  heaven. 
Are  instances  that  Bacon  must  be  damn'd. 
For  using  devils  to  countervail  his  God. 

Yet,  Bacon,  cheer  thee,  drown  not  in  despair. 
Sins  have  their  salves,  repentance  can  do  much : 
Think  Mercy  sits  where  Justice  holds  her  seat, 
And  from  those  wounds  those  bloody  Jews  did 

pierce, 
Which  by  thy  magic  oft  did  bleed  afresh. 
From  thence  for  thee  the  dew  of  mercy  drops. 
To  wash  the  wrath  of  high  Jehovah's  ire. 
And  make  thee  as  a  new-born  babe  from  sin. 
Bungay,  Fll  spend  the  remnant  of  my  life 

xciii 


In  pure  devotion,  praying  to  my  God, 
That  he  would  save  what  Bacon  vainly  lost. 

*         *         *         *  (Exeunt. 

Hen.    But  why  stands  friar  Bacon  here  so  mute? 

Bacon.     Repentant  for  the  follies  of  my  youth, 
That  magic's  secret  mysteries  misled. 
And  joyful  that  this  royal  marriage 
Portends  such  bliss  unto  this  matchless  realm. 

Hen.     Whv,  Bacon, 
What  strange  event  shall  happen  to  this  land? 
Or  w^hat  shall  grow  from  Edward  and  his  queen? 

Bacon.     I  find  by  deep  prescience  of  mine  art. 
Which  once  I  tempered  in  my  secret  cell. 
That  here  where  Brute  did  build  his  Troynovant^ 
From  forth  the  royal  garden  of  a  king, 
Shall  flourish  out  so  rich  and  fair  a  bud. 
Whose  brightness  shall  deface  proud  Phoebus' 

flower, 
And  over-shadow  Albion  with  her  leaves. 
Till  then.  Mars  shall  be  master  of  the  field. 
But  then  the  stormy  threats  of  wars  shall  cease : 
The  horse  shall  stamp  as  careless  of  the  pike. 
Drums  shall  be  turn'd  to  timbrels  of  delight; 
With  wealthy  favours  plenty  shall  enrich 
The  strond  that  gladded  wandering  Brute  to  see. 
And  peace  from  heaven  shall  harbour  in  these 

leaves. 
That  gorgeous  beautify  this  matchless  flower. 
.  Apollo's  heliotropion  then  shall  stoop. 
And  Venus'  hyacinth  shall  vail  her  top; 
Juno  shall  shut  her  gilliflowers  up. 
And  Pallas'  bay  shall  'bash  her  brightest  green; 
Ceres'  carnation  in  consort  with  those. 
Shall  stoop  and  wonder  at  Diana's  rose. 


741  St.  Nicholas  Avenue 

New  York,  February  24,  1921  B.   B. 

xciv 


SHAKESPEARE'S  CONNECTION   WITH  THE 

INNS  OF  COURT 

It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  two  of  Shakespeare 's  come- 
dies were  performed  at  the  famous  Inns  of  Court — The 
Comedy  of  Errors  at  Grays  Inn  on  December  28,  1594^ 
and  Twelih  Night  in  the  Middle  Temple  Hall  February, 
1601. 

John  Manningham,  a  student  in  the  Middle  Temple, 
has  written  the  following  in  his  table-book,  2  Febr., 
1601 :  ''At  our  feast  wee  had  a  play  called  Twelve  Night, 
or  what  you  will,  much  like  the  commedy  of  errores,  or 
Menechmi  in  Plautis,  but  most  like  and  neere  to  that  in 
Italian  called  Inganni.  A  good  practice  in  it  to  make  the 
steward  believe  his  lady  widdowe  was  in  love  with  him, 
by  counterfayting  a  letter  as  from  his  lady,  in  generall 
termes,  telling  him  what  she  liked  best  in  him,  and  pre- 
scribing his  gesture  in  smiling,  his  apparaile,  &c.,  and 
then  when  he  came  to  practice  making  him  believe  they 
took  him  to  be  mad." 

In  the  same  diary,  Manningham  gives  an  anecdote 
about  Shakespeare  which  was  related  to  him  by  a  Mr. 
Cnrlc' 

In  the  Pension  Booh  of  Grays  Inn,  I  find  on  the  12th  of 
June,  1616,  p.  221:  ''Mr.  Auditor  Curie  being  admitted 
of  the  howse  is  caled  an  Ancient  &  to  have  place  above 
all  the  Ancients."  And  on  21  Oct.,  1618:  "Mr.  Auditor 
Curie  and  Mr.  (hilson  calleil  to  the  Bench.''' 

Some  one  has  said,  "Laughter  is  only  the  bright  side 
of  a  tear,"  and  I  have  thought  Shakespeare  may  have 
found  in  Grays  Inn  a  model  for  his  mad  Malvolio.     Mr. 

iSte  Shakespeare's  ("eiitury  of  Praise.  2n(l  Ed..  \^.  45. 
-Ibid,  1).  232. 

1 


Fletcher,  Editor  of  the  Pension  Book  of  Grays  Inn,  p. 
100,  has  this  foot  note  relating  to  the  butler,- John  Som- 
erscales,  in  1593 : 

"  Somerscales  went  out  of  his  mind.  He  was  sent  to 
Bethlehem  Hospital  (Bedlam)  and  there  maintained  at 
the  expense  of  the  Society."  Shakespeare  was  living 
in  Bishopsgate  about  this  time,  we  are  told,  and  Bedlam 
was  in  Bishopsgate  ward.  It  is  my  belief  the  poet  some- 
times visited  this  hospital  and  studied  the  different 
phases  of  madness.  Else  how  could  he  have  given  us 
such  a  truthful  delineation  of  mental  abberation  as  we 
find  in  the  fair  Ophelia,  in  ''Poor  Tom's-a-cold,"  and  in 
King  Lear?  If,  as  I  believe,  Bacon  befriended  the  poet, 
he  would  have  known  all  about  Somerscales;  and,  as 
Bacon  took  a  sympathetic  interest  in  the  poor  butler, 
perhaps  Shakespeare  would  drop  in  to  see  him  now  and 
then  and  report  to  Bacon  how  he  was  getting  on.  At  the 
Pension  14  May,  35  Eliz:     It  was: 

'^Ordryd  that  John  Somerscales  the  pune  butler  which 
is  now  visyted  with  sicness  shalbe  wekely  allowed  v^ 
by  the  weke  during  hys  sickness  to  be  payd  hym  by  the 
SteAvard  out  of  thadmyttance  money."^ 

And: 

1594  [31  Jan.]  "At  the  same  pencion  yt  ys  orderyd  & 
agreed  that  Anthony  Catmer  shall  serve  in  the 
Buttrie  as  Butler  in  the  stead  of  John  Somerscales 
&  for  hym  and  shall  have  &  collect  to  thuse  of  the 
sayd  Anthony  soch  fees  as  wer  due  &  accustomyd 
to  be  payd  to  the  said  Somerscales.  And  thereof 
shall  paye  to  the  sayd  Somerscales  yearly  duringe 
hys  lunacy  iii^'  vi®  viii"^.  And  yt  ys  lykewyse  or- 
deryd that  the  said  Somerscales  shall  have  vi''  xiii^ 
iiii*^  of  the  stocke  of  the  howse  for  this  yeare.    And 

iTbid.  p.  KM  I. 


yt  ys  further  in  the  sayd  pencion  agreed  that  yf  yt 
shall  please  God  at  any  tyme  hereafter  to  restore 
the  sayd  John  Somerscales  to  hys  perfect  senee  & 
memorye  agayne  that  then  the  said  John  yf  he 
shall  lyke  thereof  shall  &  may  com  &  execute  hys 
place  agayne  in  the  buttrye  &  shall  have  soch  fees 
and    coniinoilyties    as    heretofore    he    hath    had."^ 

I  know  it  is  mere  conjecture  on  my  part  that  Shakes- 
peare took  this  poor  porter's  case  to  illustrate  a  pre- 
tended madness  in  Malvolio.  Among  Bacon's  accounts 
for  1602-1605  we  find: 

''Payde  the  26th  of  Feb:  1602  unto  Mr.  Parrett  the 
Keper  of  Bethelem  for  keeioinge  of  John  Somerscales 
from  the  6  of  November  unto  the  dale  aforesaid  beinge 
16  weekes  2  15  10."-' 

So  I  imagine  the  unfortunate  man  never  recovered  his 
mind. 

Some  years  ago  I  maintained  that  Shakespeare  found 
the  source  of  his  plot  for  Love's  Labors  Lost  at  Grays 
Inn.  And  I  still  feel  thoroughly  convinced  that  he  did. 
Queen  Elizabeth's  aversion  to  matrimony  is  well  known, 
also  that  anecdote  of  her  when  she  said  to  Bishop  Whit- 
gift  she  ''liked  him  the  better  because  he  was  not  mar- 
ried," and  his  answer,  ''Madame,  I  like  you  the  worse 
for  the  same  reason."  Bishop  Whitgift  had  been  Fran- 
cis Bacon's  tutor  at  Cambridge,  and  in  May,  1593,  the 
Venus  and  Adonis  year,  he  became  a  member  of  Grays 
Inn.  It  has  been  said  no  source  of  the  plot  of  Love's 
Labors  Lost  has  been  discovered,  so  I  will  give  here  what 
I  think  inspired  it.  Love's  Labours  Lost  was  the  first 
play  to  appear  with  Shakespeare's  name  printed  on  the 
title  page.     It  was  dated  1598  and  called: 

Ubifl,  p.  102. 
^Pension  Book,  p.  490. 

3 


A  PLEASANT,  CONCEITED  COMEDIE  CALLED 
LOVE'S  LABOUES  LOST.  AS  IT  WAS  PER- 
FORMED BEFORE  HER  HIGHNESS  THIS 
LAST  CHRISTMAS.  NEWLY  CORRECTED 
AND  AUGMENTED  BY  W.  SHAKESPERE.  IM- 
PRINTED AT  LONDON  BY  W.  W.  FOR  CUT- 
BERT  BURBY,  1598. 

As  New  Year's  Day  always  fell  upon  March  25tli  at 
that  period,  the  new  statutes  made  for  Grays  Inn  by 
Elizabeth  in  1598  would  have  given  plenty  of  time  before 
Christmas  for  Shakespeare  to  write  this  parody  on  them. 
The  Queen's  statutes  must  have  created  much  merriment 
among  the  young  gentlemen  of  Grays  Inn  and  great 
anxiety  in  tbe  lower  quarters  among  the  ''meaner  sort,'^ 
as  the  following  illustration  will  prove: 

1598  PENSION  15th  Nov  :  40  Eliz :  Present :— BRO- 
GRAVE,  BACON,  STANHOPE,  HALES,  FUL- 
LER, PELHAM,  BETTENHAM,  LANY, 
NIGHTINGALE,  BARKER,  GERRARD,  BRAC- 
KIN,  WILBRAHAM  and  ELLIS. 

"It  is  also  at  the  present  pencon  agreed  that  the 
Reader  in  Divinitie  to  be  chosen  shalbee  a  man  un- 
married &  having  noe  ecclesiasticall  livinge  other 
than  a  prebend  without  cure  of  soules  nor  Reader- 
shippe  in  any  other  place  &  shall  kepe  the  same 
place  so  longe  as  hee  shall  continewe  unmaried  & 
without  beinge  preferred  to  such  ecclesiasticall 
livinge  or  other  Readershippe  &  no  longer.  And 
that  hee  bee  not  further  charged  with  reading  than 
twice  in  the  weeke  savinge  in  the  weeke  wherein 
there  is  Communion."  Pension  Booh  Grays  Inn,. 
p.  139. 

4 


And  further: 

1598  PENSION  7tli  Feb:  41  Eliz:  Present :~BRO- 
GRAVE,  HESKETH,  BACON,  WHINKINS, 
POOLEY,  PULLER,  PELHAM,  LANY,  NIGHT- 
INGALE, BETTENHAM,  BARKER,  PEPPER, 
GERRARD,  BRAKINE,  CALFIELD,  WILBRA- 
HAM,  ELLIS. 

''At  this  pencion  Mr.  Shaxton  is  elected 
Preacher  or  Divinytie  Reader  to  this  Societie  so 
that  hee  will  accept  the  same  under  the  Rules  and 
condicons  in  that  behalfe  lieretofore  agreed  uppon 
by  pencon  viz :  not  to  bee  capable  thereof  if  hee 
bee  married  or  have  any  other  ecclesiasticall  living 
with  cure  of  soules  &  thoughe  not  beinge  soe  att 
the  time  of  his  eleccon  not  to  continewe  soe  longer 
then  as  hee  shall  remaine  unmaried  &  without 
such  ecclesiasticall  livinge  as  aforesaid.  And  if 
that  Mr.  Shaxton  shall  not  like  to  accept  the  same 
place  under  tlies  coniliccjn.s  then  is  Mr.  Feuton 
elected  Preacher  to  this  Societie  so  that  he  will 
also  accept  &  continewe  the  same  under  the  same 
condicons.  And  if  hee  shall  not  like  to  accept  of 
the  place  in  such  manner  &  under  such  condicons 
then  is  Mr.  Heron  elected  Preacher  or  Diyinitie 
Reader  to  this  Society  under  the  same  rules  & 
condicons  if  he  w^ill  soe  accept  &  continewe  in  the 
same.  And  it  is  further  agreed  that  Mr.  Shaxton 
doe  deliver  his  resolute  answer  of  his  acceptinge 
or  refusall  of  this  place  before  the  first  Mondaye 
in  Lent  next  &  if  hee  shall  refuse  the  place  that 
then  Mr.  Fenton  doe  deliver  his  answere  therein 
before  the  third  Mondaye  in  Lent  &  upon  his  re- 
fusall that  Mr.  Heron  doe  therein  deliver  his  reso- 


lute  answere  before  the  fifth  Mondaye  in  Lent 
next."    Ibid.,  pp.  140-141. 
The  Ed.  of  the  Pension  Book  says  in  a  note : 

"Apparently  Mr.  Shaxton  did  not  accept  the  condi- 
tions laid  down — conditions  which  suggest  that  tlie 
Queen's  well-known  prejudice  in  favour  of  the  celibacy 
of  the  clergy  was  shared  by  the  Benchers.  Roger  Fen- 
ton,  who  was  appointed,  accepted  the  conditions,  but 
broke  at  least  one  of  them,  for  he  had  conjointly  with  his 
preachership,  first  the  rectory  of  St.  Benet's  Sherehog 
(1603-6),  and  then  the  vicerage  of  Chigwell,  Essex  (1606- 
15).  Shortly  after  his  appointment  he  was  elected  fellow 
of  Pembroke  Hall,  Cambridge.  He  was  one  of  the  trans- 
lators who  produced  the  Authorized  Version  of  the 
Bible,  and  is  said  to  have  been  a  popular  preacher.  He 
published  a  'Treatise  on  Usurie,'  in  three  books,  and 
many  sermons.  His  successor  at  Chigwell,  in  referring 
to  him,  wrote  of  'those  Grayes  Inne  whose  hearts  bled 
through  their  eyes  when  they  saw  him  dead.'  He  did 
not  take  the  degree  of  Doctor  till  a  year  or  two  before 
his  death  in  1615-16."    Ibid.,  p.  140. 

From  Gorhambury,  Francis  Bacon  writes  to  Sir 
Michael  Hicks,  27  Aug.,  1610:  "I  heartily  wish  I  had 
your  company  here  at  my  mother's  funeral.  ...  I 
dare  promise  you  a  good  sermon  to  be  made  by  Mr. 
Fenton,  the  preacher  of  Grays  Inn;  for  he  never  maketli 
other."  Spedding's  Letters  and  Life,  IV,  p.  217.  I  be- 
live  Bacon  helped  Fenton  in  his  '^Treatise  on  Usurie." 

To  return  to  Love's  Labours  Lost.  Shakespeare's 
patron,  the  Earl  of  Southampton,  secretly  married  about 
this  time,  and  when  the  Queen  learned  it  she  had  the 
young  lady  sent  to  the  Fleet,  and  the  Earl  also  impris- 
oned. In  1604  Southampton  had  this  play  performed  be- 
fore Queen  Anne. 


To  me  the  following  from  Love's  Labors  Lost  illus- 
trates how  the  gentlemen  of  Grays  Inn  took  the  Queen's 

statutes : 

ACT    I— S(^ENE    1.      Xavjure.      .1    r<til:,    irilh    <t    rahicc 

ill  it 
Enter  the  King.  Btkon.  Longaville  and  Dumain. 

King.     .     .     .     Therefore,  brave  conquerors! — for  so 
you  are, 
That  war  against  your  own  alfections. 
And  the  huge  army  of  the  world's  desires, — 
Our  late  edict  shall  strongly  stand  in  force ; 
Navarre  shall  be  the  wonder  of  the  world ; 
Our  court  shall  be  a  little  Academe, 
Still  and  contemplative  in  living  art. 
You  three,  Biron,  Dumain,  and  Longaville, 
Have  sworn  for  three  years'  term  to  live  with  me. 
My  fellow-scholars,  and  to  keep  those  statutes, 
That  are  recorded  in  this  schedule  here : 
Your  oaths  are  past  and  now  subscribe  your  names.  .  .  . 

Biron.    I  can  but  say  their  protestation  over. 
So  much,  dear  liege,  I  have  already  sworn, 
That  is,  To  live  and  study  here  three  years. 
But  there  are  other  strict  observances: 
As,  not  to  see  a  woman  in  that  term; 
Which,  I  hope  well,  is  not  enrolled  there.     .     .     . 

.     .     .     But  Biron  consents  to  sign  and  says: 

Biron.    Give  me  the  paper,  let  me  read  the  same. 
And  to  the  strictest  decrees  I'll  sign  my  name. 

King.  How  well  this  yielding  rescues  thee  from  shame : 

Biron.     {Reads.l 

Item,  That  no-  ivoman  shall  eome  within  a  mile  of  my 
court — 
Hath  this  been  proclaim 'd  I 

Long.    Four  days  ago. 


Biron.    Let's  see  the  penalty.     [Reads.] 

— On  pain  of  losing  her  tongue. — 
Who  devis'd  this  penalty  I 

Long.    Marry,  that  did  I. 

Biron.    Sweet  lord,  and  why? 

Long.    To  fright  them  hence  with  that  dread  penalty. 

Biron.   A  dangerous  law  against  gentility. 

[Reads.] 

Item,  if  any  man  he  seen  to  talk  with  a  woman  within 
the  term  of  three  years,  he  shall  endure  such  public  shame 
■as  the  rest  of  the  court  shall  possibly  devise. — 
This  article,  my  liege,  yourself  must  break ; 
For,  well  you  know,  here  comes  in  embassy 
The  French  king's  daughter,  with  yourself  to  speak  .  .  . 

King.  We  must,  of  force,  dispense  with  this  decree ; 
She  must  lie  here  on  mere  necessity. 

Biron.  Necessity  will  make  us  all  forsworn 

Three  thousand  times  within  this  three  years'  space: 
For  every  man  with  his  affects  is  born; 

Not  by  might  master 'd,  but  by  special  grace. 
If  I  break  faith,  this  word  shall  speak  for  me, 
I  am  forsworn  on  mere  necessity. — 
So  to  the  laws  at  large  I  write  my  name :       [Subsaibes. 

And  he  that  breaks  them  in  the  least  degree. 
Stands  in  attainder  of  eternal  shame : 

Suggestions  are  to  others,  as  to  me; 
But,  I  believe,  although  I  seem  so  loth : 
I  am  the  last  that  will  last  keep  his  oath. 
But  is  there  no  quick  recreation  granted? 

King,  Ay,  that  there  is ;  our  court,  you  know,  is  haunted 

With  a  refined  traveller  of  Spain; 
A  man  in  all  the  world's  new  fashion  planted, 

That  hath  a  mint  of  phrases  in  his  brain : 
One  whom  the  music  of  his  own  vain  tongue 


Dotli- ravish,  like  enchanting  harmony; 
A  man  of  comiDlements,  whom  right  and  wrong 

Have  chose  as  umpire  of  their  mutiny : 
This  child  of  fancy,  that  Armado  hight, 

For  interim  to  our  studies,  shall  relate. 
In  high-born  words,  the  worth  of  many  a  knight 

From  tawny  Spain,  lost  in  the  world's  debate. 
How  you  delight,  my  lords,  I  knpw  not,  I; 
But,  I  protest,  I  love  to  hear  him  lie, 
And  I  will  use  him  for  my  minstrelsy. 

Biron.  Armado  is  a  most  illustrious  wight 
A  man  of  fire-new  words,  fashion's  own  knight. 

Long.  Costard,  the  swain,  and  he,  shall  be  our  sport; 
And,  so  to  study,  three  years  is  but  short. 

Enter  Dull^  with  a  letter,  and  Costard 

Dull.  Which  is  the  duke's  own  person? 

Biron.  This  fellow;  "What  wouldst? 

Dull.  I  myself  reprehend  his  own  person,  for  I  am  his 
grace's  tharborough:  but  I  would  see  his  own  person  in 
flesh  and  blood. 

Biron.  This  is  he. 

Dull.  Signior  Arme — Arme — commends  you. 
There's  villainy  abroad;  this  letter  will  tell  you  more. 

Cost.  Sir,  the  contempts  thereof  are  as  touching  me. 

King.  A  letter  from  the  magnificent  Armado. 

Biron.  How  low  soever  the  matter,  I  hope  in  God  for 
high  words. 

Long.  A  high  hope  for  a  low  heaven:  God  grant  us 
patience ! 

Biron.  To  hear?  or  forbear  hearing? 

Long.  To  hear  meekly,  sir,  and  to  laugh  moderately; 
or  to  forbear  both. 

Biron.  Well,  sir,  be  it  as  the  style  shall  give  us  cause 
to  climb  in  the  merriness. 


Cost.  Tlie  matter  is  to  me,  sir,  as  concerning  Jaquenet- 
ta.    The  manner  of  it  is,  I  was  taken  witli  the  manner. 

Biron.  In  what  manner! 

Cost.  In  manner  and  form  following,  sir;  all  those 
three:  I  was  seen  with  her  in  the  manorhouse,  sitting 
with  her  upon  the  form,  and  taken  following  her  into  the 
park ;  which,  put  together,  is  in  manner  and  form  follow- 
ing. Now,  sir,  for  the  manner, — it  is  the  manner  of  a 
man  to  speak  to  a  woman :  for  the  form, — in  some  form. 

Biron.  For  the  following,  sir  1 

Cost.  As  it  shall  follow  in  my  correction; 
And  God  defend  the  right! 

King.  Will  you  hear  this  letter  with  attention! 

Biron.  As  we  would  hear  an  oracle. 

Cost.  Such  is  the  simplicity  of  man  to  hearken  after 
the  flesh. 

King.  [Reads.]  ''Great  deputy,  the  ivelMn's  vice- 
gerent, and  sole  dominator  of  Navarre,  my  soul's  earth's 
God,  and  body's  fostering  patron, — 

Cost.  Not  a  word  of  Costard  yet. 

King.  ''So  it  is, — 

Cost.  It  may  be  so :  but  if  he  say  it  is  so,  he  is,  in  telling- 
true,  but  so. 

King.  Peace! 

Cost.  — ^be  to  me,  and  every  man  that  dares  not  fight ! 

King.  No  words : 

Cost. — Of  other  men's  secrets,  I  beseech  you. 

King.  "So  it  is,  besieged  ivith  sable-coloured  melan- 
choly, I  did  commend  the  black-oppressing  humour  to  the 
most  wholesome  physic  of  thy  health-giving  air :  and,  as  I 
am  a  gentleman,  betook  myself  to  walk.  The  time  ivhenf 
About  the  sixth  hour;  ivhen  beasts  most  graze,  birds  best 
peck,  and  men  sit  down  to  that  nourishment  tvhich  is 
called  supper.    So  much  for  the  time  when:  Now  for  the 

10 


ground  which;  ivhich,  I  mean,  I  tvalked  upon:  it  is 
ycleped  thy  park.  Then  for  the  place  where;  ivhere,  I 
mean,  I  did  encounter  that  obscene  and  most  preposter- 
ous event,  that  draweth  from  my  snow-white  pen  the 
ebon-coloured  ink,  which  here  thou  viewest,  beholdest, 
surveyest,  or  seest :  But  to  the  place  ivhere, — It  standeth 
north-north-east  and  by  east  from  the  luest  corner  of  thy 
curious-knotted  garden.  There  did  I  see  that  loiv-spirited 
siuain,  that  base  minnow  of  thy  mirth. 

Cost.  Me? 

King.  — "that  unlette'd  small-knoiving  soul,  ' 

Cost.  Me!  ' 

King.  " — that  shalloiu  vassal, 

Co6'^.  Still  me? 

King. — ''irlu'cli  as  I  icincnihcr,  hiipi  Costard. 

Cost.  0  me ! 

King.  — "sorted,  and  consorted,  contrary  to  thy  estab- 
lished proclaimed  edict  and  continent  canon,  with — with, 
— 0  ivith — but  tvith  this  I  passion  to  say  wherewith. 

Cost.  With  a  wench. 

King.  — "with  a  child  of  our  grandmother  Eve,  a  fe- 
male; or,  for  thy  more  siveet  understanding,  a  ivoman. 
Him  I  {as  my  ever  esteemed  duty  pricks  me  on)  have 
sent  to  thee,  to  receive  the  meed  of  punishment,  by  thy 
sweet  grace's  officer,  Antony  Bull;  a  man  of  good  repute, 
carriage,  bearing,  and  estimation. 

Bull.  Me,  an't  shall  please  you;  I  am  Antony  Dull. 

King.  "For  Jaquenetta  {so  is  the  weaker  vesser  called, 
ivhich  I  apprehend  with  the  aforesaid  sivain)  I  keep  her 
as  a  vessel  of  thy  law's  fury;  and  shall,  at  the  least  of  thy 
siveet  notice,  bring  her  to  trial.  Thine,  in  all  compli- 
ments of  devoted  and  heart-burning  heat  of  duty, 

Don  Adkiano  de  Aemado."' 

11 


Biron.  This  is  not  so  well  as  I  looked  for,  but  the  best 
that  ever  I  heard. 

King,  Ay,  the  best  for  the  worst.     But,  sirrah,  what 
say  you  to  this? 

Cost.  Sir,  I  confess  the  wench. 

King.  Did  you  hear  the  proclamation  ? 

Cost.  I  do  confess  much  of  the  hearing  it,  but  little  of 
the  marking  of  it. 

King.  It  was  proclaimed  a  year's  imprisonment,  to  be 
taken  with  a  wench. 

Cost.  I  was  taken  with  none,  sir;  I  was  taken  with  a 
damosel. 

King.  Well,  it  was  proclaimed  damosel. 

Cost.  This  was  no  damosel,  neither,  sir;   she  was   a 
virgin. 

King.  It  is  so  varied  too ;  for  it  was  proclaimed  virgin. 

Cost.  If  it  were,  I  denv  her  virginitv;  I  was  taken 
with  a  maid. 

King.  This  maid  will  not  serve  your  turn,  sir. 

Cost.  This  maid  will  serve  my  turn,  sir. 

Kiyig.  Sir,  I  will  pronounce  your  sentence:  You  shall 
fast  a  week  with  bran  and  water. 

Cost.  I  had  rather  pray  a  month  with  mutton  and  por- 
ridge. 

King.  And  Don  Armado  shall  be  your  keeper, — 
My  lord  Biron,  see  him  deliver 'd  o'er. — 
And  go  we,  lords,  to  put  in  practice,  that 

Which  each  to  other  hath  so  strongly  sworn. — 

[Exeunt  King,  Longaville,  and  Dumain. 

Biron.  I'll  lay  my  head  to  any  good  man's  hat, 

These  oaths  and  laws  will  prove  an  idle  scorn. 
Sirrah,  come  on. 

Cost.  I  suffer  for  the  truth,  sir:  for  true  it  is,  I  was 
taken  with  Jaquenetta,  and  Jaquenetta  is  a  true  girl ;  and 

12 


therefore,  Welcome  the  sour  cup  of  prosperity!  Afflic- 
tion rjiay  one  day  smile  again,  and  until  then.  Sit  down. 
Sorrow  I 

We  have  in  this  first  act,  it  seems  to  me,  observed  the 
effect  of  Elizabeth's  edict  on  the  students  of  Grays  Inn, 
but  the  following  from  the  Pension  Book  proves  tlTat  the 
"Master  Butler  and  the  Master  Cooke"  won  out,  better 
than  the  "Officers  of  the  house." 

1599         PENSION  10th  June,  41  Eliz : 

"It  is  ordered  that  from  henceforth  none  of  the 
officers  of  this  house  shall  keepe  or  enjoye  his  office 
any  longer  than  they  shall  keep  themselves  sole 
and  unmaried  exceptinge  the  stuard  the  cliiefe 
Butler  and  the  chief  Cooke."     p.  142. 

]()02  PENSION  20th  Oct:  44  Eliz:  Present :— PEE- 
PER, BROGRAVE,  HESKETH,  BACON,  WHIS- 
KINS,  FULLER,  NIGHTINGALE,  BRAKIN. 
GOLDSMITH,  ALTHAM,  CHA WORTH. 

"John  Guy  is  admitted  into  the  office  of  the 
paniarman  of  this  house  notwithstanding  that  hee 
bee  now  maried  bv  reason,  that  hee  was  maried 
before  the  order  was  made  against  inferior  officers 
mariages  in  this  house  &  therefore  hee  havinge 
served  xii  yeares  painefullye  he  is  admitted  to  the 
said  office,  the  said  former  order  notwithstand- 
inge."    Ibid.,  p.  159. 

Although  Biron  said,  "These  oaths  and  laws  will  prove 
an  idle  scorn,"  they  lingered  on.  In  1612  we  see  the  fol- 
lowing in  the  Pension  Book: 

1612  "None  of  the  said  officers  or  servitors  nowe  un- 
maried or  which  hereafter  shalbee  chosen,  except 
the  Steward,  chiefe  Butler  &  chief  cooke,  shall  con- 

13 


tinewe  liis  place  longer  then  hee  shall  live  sole  and 
unmaried."    Ihid.,  p.  199. 

Years  of  study  have  taught  me  it  is  incredable  Bacon 
and  Shakespeare  should  not  have  known  each  other,  and 
that  nowhere  else  could  the  poet  have  gained  in  so  short 
a  time  his  knowledge  of  court  manners  and  law  as  in  the 
Inns  of  Court,  where  all  the  courtly  graces  were  prac- 
ticed and  where  the  poet  must  have  had  free  access.  Sir 
George  Buc,  the  Master  of  the  Revels,  who  licensed  some 
of  Shakespeare's  plays,  had  been  a  member  of  the  Mid- 
dle Temple,  where  Twelfth  Night  was  performed  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1601.  Sir  George  Buc,  writing  of  the  "Colleges 
of  London,"  1612,  has  this  to  say  of  the  Inner  Temple 
ensign : 

"But,  if  the  fellows  and  gentlemen  of  the  Inner  Temple 
have  taken  for  the  device  or  ensign  of  their  college,  a 
Pegasus,  or  flying  horse,  sables  or  gules,  upon  a  shield 
Or,  as  I  hear  that  they  did  in  the  reign  of  the  late  queen 
of  immortal  memory,  then  they  are  already  fairly  armed. 
And,  because  the  utter-Temple  neither  is,  nor  was  ever 
any  college  or  society  of  students,  and  therefore  not  to 
be  considered  here,  I  will  leave  the  choice  of  either  of 
these  old  devices  and  ensigns  to  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Middle  Temple,  they  not  having  as  yet,  to  my  knowledge, 
chosen  or  appropriated  any  ensign  to  their  society  or 
college;  to  whom,  and  to  their  house  and  studies,  I  wish 
all  honour  and  prosperity,  for  my  particular  obligation, 
having  been  sometimes  a  fellow  and  student  (or,  to  con- 
fess a  truth,  a  truant,)  in  that  most  honourable  house." 
Pearce's  Inns  of  Court,  p.  274. 

I  believe  the  shield  of  Pegasus  for  the  Inner  Temple 
was  inaugurated   in   1561   in   the   masque   of  PalapJiilos. 

14 


Elizabeth,  the  "Fairie  Queen,"  seems  to  have  inspired 
these  ardent  youths  with  more  liking  for  poetr}^  than  for 
law.  Hence  the  winiied  Horse  of  the  Muses  for  their  coat 
armor  or  device. 

Here  I  will  digress  a  bit  to  ask  if  it  is  not  probable 
Shakespeare  learned  from  the  herald,  William  Segar, 
how  to  make  ^'Imprisses"  when,  in  1594,  Segar  made  or 
caused  to  be  made  the  "sheilds  and  their  Emprisses"  for 
the  Gesta  Grayorum?  Take  it  all  in  all.  Grays  Inn  was 
a  splendid  school  for  the  poet  to  learn  in.  Mr.  Stevens' 
late  discovery  among  the  Belvoir  MSS.  prompts  this 
inquiry : 

"31.  Martii.  To  Mr.  Shakespeare  in  gold,  about  my 
Lord's  impreso,  XIIVS.  To  Richard  Burbage  for  paynt- 
ing  &  making  yt,  in  gold  XLIVS     .     .     .     iiili.  viiis. ' ' 

It  is  to  be  hoped  Shakespeare  was  paid  more  promptly 
for  his  service  than  Segar,  for  I  find  the  following  in  the 
Pension  Booh  of  Grays  Inn.  p.  Ill : 

1595  "It  is  further  ordered  at  this  pencion  that  vi'' 
clavmed  bv  one  ^Ir.  Sei^ar  the  Quens  servant 
for  nyne  sheilds  &  their  emprisses  be  discharged 
in  part  of  payment  whereof  iii^'  xvi^  viii'^  received 
for  Mr.  Terhinghams  fyne  admitted  this  pencion 
was  delyvered  over  to  Mr.  Johnson  for  that  use." 

The  Editor  adds: 

"This  would  he  William  Segar,  who  was  during  this 
reign  successively  Somerset  herald  and  Norroy  King-at- 
arms.  Early  in  the  next  reign  he  became  Garter  King- 
at-arms,  and  in  1616  was  knighted.  In  the  following 
year  he  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  Inn." 

15 


1596  PENSION  lltli  Feb:  38Eliz:  Present— BRO- 
GRAVE,  ANGER,  POLEY,  PELHAM,  BET- 
TENHAM.  LANY,  NIGHTINGALE  and  BAR- 
KER. 

"It  is  ordered  that  there  shall  bee  payd'  out  of 
thadmittance  money  to  Somersett  the  Herold 
reasidiie  of  a  debte  due  xP  iiii'^."    Ihid.,  p.  113. 

Among  those  employed  at  Grays  Inn  I  find  John  Buck^ 
who  may  have  been  related  to  the  Master  of  the  Revels: 

1579  PENSION  6th  July,  21  Eliz :  Present :— BAR- 
TON, COLBIE,  AUNGER,  WHISKINS,  YEL- 
VERTON,  SNAGG,  CARDINALL,  BROGRAVE 
and  KEMPE. 

"It  is  ordered  that  John  Buck  shall  be  allowed 
toe  be  in  Davyes  rome  in  the  buttrye  when"  the  said 
Davy  shall  leave  the  same  office."    p. -39. 

Item  for  my  (Buck's)  charges  of  horse  hire  & 

other  expenses  in  rydinge  to  Nonsuche  her  Maties 

Court  wth  aunswere  to  the  Counsailers  towehing 

Robin     llood.s     stake    defacing    viii'    vii'^       1J>i(l  ., 

-p.  488. 

Also  the  following  at  a  Pension  held  28  May,  1599 : 

Mr.  Buck's  resignation  of  his  office  of  Steward- 
ship of  this  house  is  accepted,  and  Mr.  Richard 
Ockhold  is  chosen  Steward. 
Sir  George  Buc  succeeded  his  uncle,  Edward  Tilney, 
as  Master  of  the  Revels,  in  1(510.     The  Tilneys  also  were 
members  of  Grays  Inn : 

1590  PENSION  19th  May,  32  Eliz:  Present:  BRO- 
GRAVE, ANGER,  CARDINALL,  KEMP,  DAN- 
lELL,  STANHOPE,  SPURLING,  HALES, 
FULLER,  BACON,  ST.  LEGER,  LANCASTER, 
WADE. 

16 


"Mr.  Jenour,  Mr.  Marshall,  Mr.  Grene  &  Mr. 
Tyliiey  called  to  the  barr  by  Mr.  Wade  last  reader 
are  only  allowed  for  iitter-baristers  of  that  call." 
Ibid.,  p".  87. 

1600  Mr.  Robert  Tilney  the  elder,  having  paid  all  his 
vacations  and  commons  due  by  him  to  the  Society, 
is  restored  to  his  former  degree  of  ancienty.  Ibid., 
p.  149. 

That  Shakespeare  was  exceedingly  fond  of  the  Inns  of 
Court,  we  ,«ee  in  his  dranuis,  wherein  he  honors  so  many 
of  their  distinguished  members.  In  the  GcHa  Grayorum 
we  find  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Markham  was  given 
the  role  of  Lord  Chamberlain  of  the  Household.  Pearce, 
in  liis  able  work,  The  Inns  of  Court  and  Chancery,  p.  338, 
has  this  to  say  of  one  of  this  gentleman's  ancestors,  who 
also  belonged  to  Grays  Inn: 

''The  next  member  of  this  society  whose  name  is  re- 
membered is  John  Markham,  one  of  the  Judges  of  the 
Common  Pleas.  Having  filled  the  office  of  reader  in 
Grays  Inn,  Markham  was  in  the  year  1391  called  to  the 
degree  of  a  serjeant-at-law,  and  on  the  7tli  July,  1397, 
was  constituted  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Common  Pleas, 
by  King  Richard  II.  He  was  probably  the  father  of 
John  Markham,  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  who 
was  distinguished  for  his  honest  and  fearless  opposition 
to  the  wishes  of  the  crown.  The  younger  Markham  was 
also  a  member  of  this  inn  and  his  arms  are  yet  preserved 
in  the  north-east  window  of  the  hall.  On  the  6th  of  Feb- 
ruary, A.  D.  1444,  in  the  22  Henry  VI.,  he  was  constituted 
one  of  the  Justices  ad  Plac.  coram  Rege;  and  on  the  13th 
May,  A.  D.  1462,  was  created  Lord  Chief  Justice  by  King 
Edward  IV.  Stow  informs  us,  'And  because  that  Sir 
John  Markham,  then  Chief  Justice,  determined  somewhat 


against  the  king's  pleasure,  that  the  offence  done  by  Sir 
Thomas  Cooke  (who  was  arraigned  at  the  Guildhall,  on 
a  vague  charge  of  treason)  was  no  treason,  but  mis- 
prison, the  which  was  no  desert  of  death,  but  to  be  fined 
at  the  king's  pleasure;  the  Lord  Rivers  and  the  Duchess 
of  Bedford,  his  wife,  procured  that  he  lost  his  office  after- 
wards.' Lord  Coke  enumerates  Sir  John  Markham  as 
one  of  the  famous  and  expert  sages  of  the  law  in  the  time 
of  Littleton." 

The  Sir  Thomas  Cooke  here  mentioned  w^as  Francis 
Bacon's  great-great-great-grandfather,  Avho  was  contempo- 
rary with  Chief  Justice  William  Gascoyne,  whom  Shake- 
speare brought  into  two  of  his  dramas,  namely,  second  part, 
Henry  IV.,  Act  V.,  and  in  Henry  V.  Sir  William  Gas- 
coyne was  a  student  and  reader  of  Grays  Inn  in  1398. 
Bacon's  kinsman,  Sir  Thomas  Cooke,  was  also  a  contem- 
pory  of  Sir  John  Fastolf  of  Caistor  Castle,  supposed  by 
some  to  be  "the  old  man  of  the  castle,"  and  of  Boars 
Head  fame  in  the  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor.  Shakespeare 
gives  us  this  fine  picture  of  Judge  Gascoyne: 

King  Henry  V.    How  might  a  Prince  of  my  great  hopes 
forget 
So  great  indignities  you  laid  upon  me? 
What!  rate,  rebuke,  and  roughly  send  to  prison 
The  immediate  heir  of  England!    Was  this  easy? 
May  this  be  wash'd  in  Lethe  and  forgotten? 

Chief  Justice.  I  then  did  use  the  person  of  your  father ; 
The  image  of  his  power  lay  then  in  me ! 
And  in  the  administration  of  his  law. 
Whiles  I  was  busy  for  the  Commonwealth, 
Your  highness  pleased  to  forget  my  place. 
The  majesty  and  power  of  Law  and  Justice, 
The  image  of  the  King,  whom  I  presented. 
And  struck  me  in  my  very  seat  of  judgment ; 

IS 


"Whereon,  as  an  offender  to  your  father, 

I  gave  bold  way  to  my  authority, 

And  did  commit  you.    If  the  deed  were  ill. 

Be  you  contented,  wearing  now  the  garland, 

To  have  a  son  set  your  decrees  at  nought ; 

To  pluck  down  justice  from  your  awful  bench ; 

To  trip  the  course  of  law,  and  blunt  the  sword 

That  guards  the  peace  and  safety  of  your  person : 

Nay,  more ;  to  spurn  at  your  most  royal  image. 

And  mock  your  workings  in  a  second  body. 

Question  your  royal  thoughts,  make  the  case  yours, 

Be  now  the  father  and  propose  a  son: 

Hear  your  own  dignity  so  much  prof  an 'd, 

See  your  most  dreadful  laws  so  loosely  slighted, 

Behold  yourself  so  by  a  son  disdain 'd; 

And  then  imagine  me  taking  your  part. 

And  in  your  power  soft  silencing  your  son : 

After  this  cold  considerence,  sentence  me ; 

And  as  you  are  a  King,  speak  in  your  state. 

What  I  have  done  that  misbecame  my  place. 

My  person,  or  my  liege's  sovereignty. 

King.  You  are  right,  Justice,  and  you  w^eigh  this  well; 
Therefore  still  bear  the  balance  and  the  sword. 

The  poet  in  Henry  VIII,  Act  V.,  Scene  1,  honors  an- 
other Grays  Inn  lawyer,  Thomas  Cromwell,  who  served 
Cardinal  Wolsey  so  faithfully: 

''0  Cromwell,  Cromwell, 
Had  I  but  serv'd  my  God  with  half  the  zeal 
I  serv'd  my  king,  he  would  not  in  my  age 
Have  left  me  naked  to  mine  enemies." 
Another  Grays  Inn  man  in  the  same  drama  is  Stephen 
Gardiner,   Bishop  of   Winchester  and   Lord   High   Chan- 
cellor of  England,  who  became  Cromwell's  enemy.  Pearce 
says : 

19 


"Cromwell  was  admitted  of  Gray's  Inn,  a.  d.  1524;  in 
ten  years  afterwards  lie  was  one  of  tlie  ancients  of  the 
society;  in  the  year  1535  he  was  advanced  to  the  offices 
of  Secretary  to  the  Privy  Council,  Chancellor  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge,  Master  of  the  Eolls,  and  Lord 
Privy  Seal.  He  was  known  to  be  favourably  disposed 
towards  the  new  doctrines: — 

Bishop  Gardiner.  Do  I  not  know  you  for  a  favourer 
Of  this  new  sect?    Ye  are  not  sound. 

Cromwell.  Not  sound? 

Gar.  Not  sound,  I  sav. 

Crom.  Would  you  were  half  so  honest ! 
Men's  prayers  then  would  see  you,  not  their  fears. 

Gar.  I  shall  remember  this  bold  language. 

Crom.  Do. 

Remember   your   bold   life,   too. — Henry    VIII.,   Act  V,. 
Scene  1.    Pearee's  Hist.  Inns  of  Court,  p.  349. 

I  firmly  believe  Shakespeare  paid  a  compliment  to  the 
Bacon  family  by  bringing  into  this  same  drama  Sir  Wil- 
liam Butts,  the  King's  favorite  physician.  Sir  William 
Butts  married  a  kinswomen  of  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon's. 
The  Dictionary  of  National  Biography  tells  us  from  1524 
to  1545  Dr.  Butts  "was  constantly  employed  as  physi- 
cian at  the  Court,"  and  that  "the  King,  his  Queens,  Anne 
Boleyn  and  Jane  Seymour,  the  Princess  Mary,  after- 
wards Queen  Mary,  the  King's  natural  son,  Henry  Fitz- 
roy,  Duke  of  Richmond,  Cardinal  Wolsey,  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  Sir  Thomas  Lovell,  George  Boleyn,  and  Lord 
Rochford  are  all  known  to  have  been  his  patients."  .  .  . 
Also  that:  "AVhen  Wolsey  was  in  disgrace  Butts  tried  to 
reconcile  the  King  to  him,  and  his  interposition  in  favour 
cf  Archbishop  Cranmer  is  well  known  to  readers  of 
Shakespeare."     (Henry  VIII,  Act  Y,  Scene  2.) 

20 


Here  is  the  passage: 

Enter  Doctor  Butts. 

Cran.  So. 

Butts.  This  is  a  piece  of  malice.    I  am  glad, 
]  came  this  way  so  happily :  The  king 
Shall  understand  it  presently.  [Exit  Butts. 

Cran.  [Aside.  'T  is  Butts, 

The  king's  physician;  as  he  pass'd  along, 
How  earnestly  he  cast  his  eyes  upon  me ! 
Pray  heaven,  he  sound  not  my  disgrace !    For  certain, 
This  is  of  purpose  laid  by  some  that  hate  me, 
(God  turn  their  hearts!    I  never  sought  their  malice,) 
To  quench  mine  honour :  they  would  shame  to  make  me 
AVait  else  at  door;  a  fellow-counsellor. 
Among  boys,  grooms,  and  lackeys.    But  their  pleasures 
Must  be  fulfill'd,  and  I  attend  with  patience. 

Enter,  at  a  window  above,  the  King  and  Butts. 

Butts.  I'll  show  your  grace  the  strangest  sight, — 

K.  Hen.  What's  that.  Butts? 

Butts.  I  think  your  highness  saw  this  many  a  day. 

K.  Hen.  Body  o'  me,  where  is  it? 

Butts.  There,  my  lord : 

The  high  promotion  of  his  grace  of  Canterbury; 
Who  holds  his  state  at  door,  'mongst  pusuivants. 
Pages,  and  footboys. 

K.  Hen.  Ha  !     'Tis  he,  indeed : 

Is  this  the  honour  they  do  one  another 
'*T  is  well  there's  one  above  them  yet.    I  had  thought 
They  had  parted  so  much  honesty  among  them, 
(At  least,  good  manners,)  as  not  thus  to  suffer 
A  man  of  his  place,  and  so  near  our  favour, 
To  dance  attendance  on  their  lordships'  pleasures. 
And  at  the  door  too,  like  a  post  with  packets. 
By  holy  Mary,  Butts,  there 's  knavery : 

21 


Let  tliem  alone,  and  draw  the  curtain  close ; 

We  sliall  hear  more  anon.  [Exeunt. 

The  article  in  the  D.  N.  B.  on  Dr.  Butts  says:  "He 
married  Margaret  Bacon,  of  Cambridgeshire,  and  left 
three  sons:  Sir  William,  of  Thornage,  Norfolk;  Thomas, 
of  Great  Eiburgh,  Norfolk,  and  Edmund,  of  Barrow,  Suf- 
folk. .  .  .  Edmund  alone  had  issue,  one  daughter, 
who  married  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon,  eldest  son  of  Sir  Nich- 
olas, keeper  of  the  great  seal."  One  of  their  sons  was 
Sir  Nathaniel  Bacon,  the  Artist,  who  married  Jane  Lady 
Cornwallis,  widow  of  Sir  William  Cornwallis,  of  Brome 
Hall.  See  the  Private  Correspondence  of  Jane  Lady 
Connralli.s,  1()13-1()44,  Lond.  1848.  Anne,  the  daughter 
of  Sir  Nathaniel  Bacon  and  Lady  Jane,  became  the  wife 
of  Sir  Thomas  Meautys,  Bacon's  friend  and  secretary, 
who  erected  the  tomb  to  Bacon  in  St.  Michael's  Church, 
Gorhambury,  and  was  buried  there  at  his  master's  feet 
in  1649.  The  play  of  King  Henry  the  Eighth  was  first 
published  in  the  folio  of  1623.  It  was  being  performed 
at  the  Globe  in  June,  1613,  when  that  famous  theatre  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  We  learn  the  date  of  this  event  from 
two  of  Bacon's  friends,  Thomas  Lorkin  and  Sir  Henry 
Wotton.  Lorkin  writes  to  Sir  Thomas  Puckering,  June, 
1613:  ''No  longer  since  than  yesterday,  while  Bourbage, 
his  company,  were  acting  at  the  Globe  the  play  of  Henry 
YIIL,  and  there  shooting  of  certain  chambers  in  way  of 
triumph,  the  fire  catch 'd."  And  Wotton,  writing  to 
Bacon's  half-nephew,  Edward  Bacon,  on  6th  July,  1613: 
"Now  to  let  matters  of  State  sleep,  I  will  entertain  you 
at  the  present  with  what  happened  this  week  at  the  Bank- 
side.  The  King's  players  had  a  new  play,  called  All  is 
True,  representing  some  principal  pieces  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  the  Eighth,  which  was  set  forth  with  many  ex- 
traordinary circumstances  of  pomp  and  majesty,  even  to 


oo 


the  matting"  of  the  stage ;  the  knights  of  the  order,  with 
their  Georges  and  Garter,  the  guards  with  tlieir  embroid- 
ered coats  and  the  like ;  sufficient,  in  truth,  within  a  while 
to  make  greatness  very  familiar,  if  not  ridiculous.  Now 
King  Henry,  making  a  mask  at  the  Cardinal  Wolsey's 
house,  and  certain  cannons  being  shot  off  at  his  entry, 
some  of  the  paper,  or  other  stuff  wherewith  one  of  them 
was  stopped,  did  light  on  the  thatch,  where,  being  thought 
at  first  but  an  idle  smoke,  and  their  eyes  being  more  at- 
tentive to  the  show,  it  kindled  inwardly,  and  ran  round 
like  a  train,  consuming,  within  less  than  an  hour,  the 
whole  house  to  the  very  ground.  This  was  the  fatal 
period  of  that  virtuous  fabric,  wherein  yet  nothing  did 
perish  but  wood  and  straw,  and  a  few  forsaken  cloaks; 
only  one  man  had  his  breeches  set  on  fire,  that  would 
perhaps  have  broiled  him,  if  he  had  not,  by  the  benefit  of 
a  provident  wit,  put  it  out  with  bottle  ale." — Reliquiae 
Wottonianae. 

It  will  be  noticed  Lorkin  spoke  of  "Bourbage  his  com- 
pany" and  that  Wotton  called  the  company  ''the  King's 
players."  I  call  attention  to  this  because  there  is  no 
record  of  Shakespeare's  ever  being  the  manager  of  a 
company  or  the  manager  of  a  theatre,  although  that  is 
the  general  belief.  See  Halliwell  Phillips'  Shakespeare's 
Tours,  p.  9. 

Eowland  White  writing  to  Sir  Robert  Sydney,  Janu- 
ary, 1597:  "The  quarrell  of  my  Lord  Southampton  to 
Ambrose  Willoughby,  grew  upon  this.  That  he  with  Sir 
Walter  Rowley,  and  Mr.  Parker,  being  at  Primero  in  the 
Presence  Chamber,  the  Queen  was  gone  to  Bed;  and  he 
being  there,  as  Squier  for  the  Body,  desired  them  to  give 
over.  Soon  after  he  spake  to  them  againe,  that  if  they 
would  not  leave,  he  would  call  in  the  Gard  to  pull  down 
the  Bord,  which  Sir  Walter  Raivley  seeing,  put  up  his 

23 


Money,  and  went  his  ways.  But  my  Lord  Southampton 
took  Exceptions  at  liym,  and  told  hym  he  would  remem- 
ber yt,  and  so  finding  hym  between  the  Tenis  Court  Wall, 
and  the  Garden,  strooke  hym,  and  Willoughby  puld  of 
some  of  his  Lockes. "    Sydney  Papers,  11.83, 

This  is  comic  enough  for  the  scene  in  Twelfth  Night, 
Act  II,  Scene  III. 

Shakespeare,  who  mus-t  have  heard  much  of  Court  gos- 
sip, may  have  utilized  this  scrap  as  follows: 

Enter  Maria 

Mar.  What  a  catterwauling  do  you  keep  here  I  If 
my  lady  have  not  called  up  her  steward,  Malvolio, 
and  bid  him  turn  you  out  of  doors,  never  trust  me. 

^ir  To.  My  lady's  Cataian,  we  are  politicians; 
Malvolio's  a  Peg-a-Ramsay,  and  Three  merry  men  he 
we.  Am  not  I  consanguineous?  am  not  I  of  her 
blood?  Tilly-valley,  lady  I  There  dwelt  a  man  in 
Bahi/loii,  lady,  lady! 
.     .     .     .  [Singing. 

A  Room  in  Olivia's  House. 

Enter  Sir  Tory  Belch  and  Sir  Andrew  Aguecheek. 

Sir  To.  Approach,  sir  Andrew :  not  to  be  abed 
after  midnight,  is  to  be  up  betimes;  and  dilueulo 
surgere,  thou  know'st, 

Sir  And.  Nav,  bv  mv  troth,  I  know  not:  but  I 
know,  to  be  up  late,  is  to  be  up  late. 

Sir  To.  A  false  conclusion ;  I  hate  it  as  an  unfilled 

can :   To  be  up  after  midnight,  and  to  go  to  bed  then 

.  is  early :  so  that,  to  go  to  bed  after  midnight,  is  to  go 

to  bed  betimes.    Do  not  our  lives  consist  of  the  four 

elements? 

Sir  And.  'Faith,  so  they  say;  but,  I  think,  it 
rather  consists  of  eating  and  drinking. 

24 


Sir  To.  Tliou  art  a  scholar;  let  us  therefore  eat 
and  drink.  —  Marian,  I  say ! a  stoop  of  wine. 

Enter  Malvolio. 

Mai.  jMv  masters,  are  you  mad?  or  what  are  you? 
Have  you  no  wit,  manners,  nor  honesty,  but  to  gabble 
like  tinkers  at  this  time  of  night?  Do  ye  make  an 
ale-house  of  my  lady's  house,  that  ye  squeak  out  your 
coziers'  catches  without  any  mitigation  or  remorse 
of  voice !  Is  there  no  respect  of  place,  persons,  nor 
time,  in  you? 

Sir  To.  We  did  keep  time,  sir,  in  our  catches. 
Sneck  up  I 

Mai.  Sir  Toby,  I  must  be  round  with  you.  My 
lady  bade  me  tell  you,  that,  though  she  harbours 
you  as  her  kinsman,  she's  nothing  allied  to  your  dis- 
orders. If  you  can  separate  yourself  and  your  mis- 
demeanors, you  are  welcome  to  the  house;  if  not,  an 
it  would  please  you  trO  take  leave  of  her,  she  is 
very  willing  to  bid  you  farewell. 


SHAKESPEARE'S  PLAYS  CONTROLLED  BY 
BACON'S  FRIENDS 

It  is  a  fact  Shakespeare's  plays  were  written  exclu- 
sively for  the  Lord  Chamberlain's  company,  and  a  fact 
also  that  his  dramas  continued  under  the  control  of  that 
officer  of  the  Court  down  to  the  time  of  King  Charles  I^ 
or  at  any  rate  to  1662,  while  Sir  Henry  Herbert  was  Mas- 
ter of  the  Revels.  On  Shakespeare's  arrival  in  London^ 
Sir  Henry  Carey,  Queen  Elizabeth's  cousin,  was  Lord 
Chamberlain  and  was  the  censor  or  licensor  of  all  plays 
presented  at  Court.  In  stage  matters  his  word  was  law. 
Now,  how  did  Shakespeare,  an  unknown  youth  from 
Stratford-upon-Avon,  become  one  of  this  Lord  Huusdou's 
servants?  As  we  have  no  personal  proof  to  help  us  on 
this  point,  we  must  use  discreet  conjecture.  My  opinion 
is  Bacon,  more  than  any  other  man  in  London,  could  have 
helped  Shakespeare  to  advancement  in  the  theatrical 
world.  Bacon's  fondness  for  masques  and  revels  is  well 
known.  He  had  in  1588  partly  composed  or  "contrived'^ 
dumb  shows  and  acted  in  them  before  the  Queen  at  Green- 
wich Palace.  His  first  cousin,  Sir  Edward  Hoby,  had  mar- 
ried Margaret  Carey,  the  Lord  Chamberlain's  daughter. 
This  fact  alone  would  enable  Bacon  to  recommend  the  poet 
to  Lord  Hunsdon's  notice. 

Many  of  Bacon's  friends  were  exceedingly  fond  of 
the  drama,  among  them  the  Earls  of  Essex  and  South- 
ampton. The  young  Earl  of  Southampton,  to  whom 
Shakespeare  dedicated  his  Venus  and  Adonis  in  1593, 
and  his  Lucrece  in  1594,  was  present  at  the  Gesta  Gray- 
orum  and  a  member  of  Grays  Inn.  He  was,  on  the  death 
of  his  father,  made  a  royal  ward,  and  Bacon's  uncle,  Wil- 
liam Cecil  (Lord  Burghley),  became  his  guardian.  Is  it 
not  natural  to  assume  Bacon  was  well  acquainted  with 
this  young  nobleman  and  that  he  could  have  introduced 

26 


Shakespeare  to  liim?  Lord  Burghley  had  also  been  the 
guardian  of  the  Earl  of  Essex,  Southampton's  dearest 
friend,  who  was  very  intimate  with  Anthony  and  Francis 
Bacon. 

Aly  conjecture  that  Bacon  could  have  helped  Shakes- 
peare is  therefore  plausible. 

It  was  through  the  Lord  Chamberlain's  courtesy  that 
the  Comedy  of  Errors  was  performed  at  Grays  Inn,  as 
mentioned  in  the  Gesta  Grayorum,  for  Shakespeare  was 
one  of  his  servants.  In  fact  all  who  helped  Shakespeare 
most  throughout  his  career  in  London  were  known  to 
Bacon  and  were  among  his  friends.  Henry  Carey  (Lord 
llundson  and  Lord  Chamberlain),  whose  daughter  be- 
came the  wife  of  Bacon's  first  cousin,  Sir  Edward  Hoby, 
was,  as  I  said  before,  the  censor  and  licensor  of  all  plays 
performed  at  Court.  The  Lord  Chamberlain's  dep- 
uty, Edmund  Tilney,  the  Master  of  the  Eevels,  who 
was  invested  with  despotic  powers  over  everything 
that  related  to  the  stage,  reigned  from  1579  to  1610. 
After  the  death  of  Henry  Carey  (first  Lord  Hundson) 
in  1596,  he  was  succeeded- by  his  son  and  heir.  Sir  George 
Carey,  second  Lord  Hundson,  who  became  Lord  Cham- 
berlain,^ and  Shakespeare's  services  were  transferred  to 
this  Lord  and  his  plays  written  for  his  company.  Sir 
George  Carey's  residence  in  the  Blackfriars  adjoined  the 
Blackfriars   Theatre,   then   owned  by  James   Burbage. 

Many  of  Shakespeare's  plays  passed  through  Tilney 's 
hands.  On  the  death  of  Elizabeth,  the  Lord  Chamber- 
lain's company  became  the  "King's  players."  Tilney 's 
nephew,  George  Buc,  was  knighted  by  James  I  in  1603, 
and  succeeded  his  uncle  as  Master  of  the  Revels,  and 
Shakespeare's  plays  continued  to  be  written  for  the  Court 

players,  and  henceforth  controlled  by  the  Herberts. 

^Henry  Brooke,  seventh  Lord  Cobliam,  held  the  office  a  few  months 
only,  before  his  death  in  April  IHOT. 

27 


Sir  George  Buc  had  the  pleasure  of  licensing  some  of 
them.  See  Notes  and  Queries,  May,  1850,  where  it  is  said 
Sir  George  Buc  dedicated  a  book  of  poems  to  Lady  Bacon 
as  follows: 

"To  the  vertuous  Ladye  and  his  most  honored  friend, 
the  Lady  Bacon,  at  Redgrave,  in  Suffolk;  wife  to  Sir 
Edmund  Bacon,  Prime  Baronett  of  England." 

Sir  Nicholas  Bacon,  not  Sir  Edmund,  was  the  first 
Baronet  of  England. 

The  Vice  Chamberlain,  Sir  Thomas  Heneage,  who 
tried  to  help  Bacon  to  the  Solicitor's  place  in  1594,  and 
who  is  mentioned  in  the  Gesta  Grayorum,  had  much  to  do 
with  stage  matters  in  that  year.  Li  May,  1594,  when 
Shakespeare  dedicated  his  Lucrece  to  the  Earl  of  South- 
ampton, Sir  Thomas  Heneage  married  the  mother  of  this 
young  Earl.  So  it  will  be  seen  in  one  way  or  another 
Shakespeare's  poems  as  well  as  his  dramas  were  always 
protected  and  patronized  by  Bacon's  friends. 

In  1596,  when  the  Shakespeare  coat-of-arms  was  ap- 
plied for,  Bacon's  friend,  the  -Earl  of  Essex,  was  Lord 
Marshall,  and  his  friends,  William  Camden  and  "William 
Dethic,  were  members  of  Grays  Inn,  and  helped  Sliakes- 
peare  to  secure  his  coat  armor,  in  spite  of  many  objec- 
tions from  other  Heralds  and  the  scandal  that  arose 
from  it  in  other  quarters. 

In  1613,  when  Shakespeare  purchased  the  Blackfriars 
property,  we  find  it  had  belonged  to  *'Mathie"  Bacon  of 
Holborn,  London,^ 

A  Mathias  Bacon  of  Holborn,  London,  was  admitted  to 
Grays  Inn  March  1,  1596-7,  sine  fine.^ 

^Halliwell  Philips'  Outlines. 
"Foster's  Ad.  Regis.,  p.  91. 

28  i 


I  find  tlie  following  relating  to  this  kinsman  of 
Bacon's:^ 

*'Yt  is  ordered  that  iii*  iiii*^  bee  payed  to  Matthew 
Bacon  for  wrytinge  of  a  letter  to  my  L.  Keeper." 

''After  my  hartie  comendacons.  Beynge  given  to 
understand  by  this  bearer  my  gentleman  usher  that  in 
maldnge  of  a  wall  which  you  now  have  in  band  between 
certain  grounds  of  your  owne  &  of  his  there  will  a  pas- 
sage or  comon  way  that  leadetb  from  Holborne  out  into 
Grayes  Inn  fields  &  towards  Islington,  bee  stopped  upp : 
forasmuch  as  hee  informeth  mee  that  the  same  hath  beene 
an  usuall  waye  tyme  out  of  minde  &  that  hee  should  re- 
ceave  verry  greate  preiudice  by  the  shuttinge  upp  of  the 
same  at  this  present  in  regarde  of  certaine  buildings 
which  hee  hath  latelie  sett  up  there :  I  have  thought  good 
in  his  behalf  to  move  you  that  untill  such  time  as  you 
have  heard  his  counsaill  that  may  make  his  title  &  interest 
therein  knowen  unto  you,  &  either  make  some  frendlie 
agrement  herein  betwene  you  or  otherwise  certifie  mee 
of  the  points  of  your  diif erence :  you  would  bee  pleased 
to  f orbeare  the  erectinge  of  the  said  wall :  In  the  which 
nothinge  doubtinge  your  good  regardes  I  leave  you  to 
the  merciful  keepinge  of  the  Almihtie.  From  York 
House  nere  Charinge  Crosse  the  5th  of  Feby  1595. 

"Your  verie  lovinge  frende 

"John  PUGKERINGE. 

"Postscript:  If  yt  bee  a  comon  passage  time  out  of 
minde  I  know  it  will  have  that  consideration  thereof  that 
is  fytt,  for  the  interest  generall." 

The  Lord  Keeper  Puckering  owned  a  residence  in 
Warwickshire  and  may  have  known  the  poet. 

^Pension  Book  of  Grays  Inn,  p.  113. 

29  -V 


1595        PENSION  10th  Feb:  38  Eliz:    Present :—GEO- 
GEAVE,  BACON,  ANGER,  POLEY,  PELHAM, 
BETTENHAM,    LANY,    NIGHTINGALE    and 
BAEKER. 

''At  this  pencion  yt  ys  ordered  that  a  Ire  shall 
be  drawn  &  sent  unto  the  Right  Honourable  the 
L.  Keper  in  aunswer  of  his  letter  sent  to  the  Read- 
ers of  Grayes  Inn  signed  under  hands  of  the  sayd 
Readers  &  that  the  copyes  of  bothe  the  sayd  Ires 
shalbe  entred  in  the  Pencion  Booke."^ 

This  ''Mathie,"  Mathias,  or  Matthew  Bacon  was  a 
Scriviner  at  Grays  Inn  and  perhaps  belonged  to  the  Scriv- 
iner's  Company,  who  bought  Bacon  House  in  Noble 
Street,  which  had  belonged  to  Francis  Bacon's  father, 
Queen  Elizabeth's  Lord  Keeper.  I  think  it  plausible  to 
conjecture  he  was  one  of  Bacon's  ''good  pens"  and  that 
the  manuscript  of  the  Gesta  Grayorum  might  have  been 
written  by  him.  See  following  letter  to  Anthony  Bacon 
from  Speddiug's  Letters  and  Life: 

"I  pray  let  me  know  what  mine  uncle  Killigrew 
will  do.  For  I  must  now  be  more  careful  of  my 
credit  than  ever,  since  I  receive  so  little  thence 
where  I  deserved  best.  And  to  be  plain  with  you, 
I  mean  even  to  make  the  best  of  those  small  things 
I  have  with  as  much  expedition  as  may  be  without 
loss ;  and  so  sing  a  mass  of  requiem  I  hope  abroad; 
for  I  know  her  Majesty's  nature,  that  she  neither 
eareth  though  the  whole  surname  of  the  Bacons 
travelled,  nor  of  the  Cecils  neither. 

"I  have  here  an  idle  pen  or  two,  specially  one 
that  was  cozened,  thinking  to  have  gotten  some 
money  this  term;  I  pray  send  me  somewhat  else 
for  them  to  write  out  besides  your  Irish  collec- 
tion, which  is  almost  done.  .  .  .  Thus  I  com- 
mend you  to  God's  good  preservation.    From  my 

Ul)i(l.,  p.  112,  1595. 

30 


lodge  at  Twickenham  Park,  this  25tli  of  January, 
1594.  Your  entire  loving  brother, 

''FR.  BACON." 

This  letter  was  written  about  Gesta  Grayorum  time. 

Ben  Jonson  was  another  of  IJacon's  "good  pens." 
AVe  are  told  that  he  and  Michael  Drayton,  the  poet,  vis- 
ited Shakespeare  in  Stratford-on-Avon,  a  short  time  be- 
fore his  death,  and  that  they  had  a  ' '  merry  meeting,  and 
it  seems  drank  too  hard,  for  Shakespeare  died  of  a 
feavour  there  contracted." 

A  year  before  Shakespeare's  death  he  is  again  con- 
nected with  Matthew  Bacon.  It  will  be  remembered,  one 
Henry  Walker  purchased  from  Matthew  Bacon  a  house 
near  the  Blackfriars  theatre,  which  he  sold  to  Shake- 
speare for  £140  in  March,  1613.  A  few  years  ago  Pro- 
fessor G.  W.  Wallace  discovered  three  documents  dated 
April  26,  May  15,  and  May  22,  1615,  dealing  with  a  suit 
in  Chancery,  in  which  Shakespeare  sought  to  recover 
from  Matthew  Bacon  ' 'possession  of  certain  deeds  per- 
taining to  property  within  the  precinct  of  the  Blaek- 
f  riars. '  '^ 

So  from  first  to  last  we  find  Shakespeare  connected  by 

documentary  history  as  well  as  by  tradition  to  some  one 

of  Bacon's  friends. 

Shakespeare  died  in  April,  1616,  and  seven  years  after 

his  death,  in  1623,  his  works  were  given  to  the  world  in 
the  first  folio.  This,  next  to  the  Bible,  is  our  most  prec- 
ious book.  It  was  dedicated  to  two  of  Bacon's  warmest 
friends,  one  of  whom  married  his  cousin. 

To  William  Herbert,  Earl  of  Pembroke,  and  Philip 
Herbert,  Earl  of  Montgomery.  William  Earl  of  Pem- 
broke was  Lord  Chamberlain  to  King  James  I,  and  his 
brother  Philip,  Earl  of  Montgomery,  succeeded  him  as 
Lord  Chamberlain.  Their  kinsman.  Sir  Henry  Herbert, 
became  Master  of  the  Revels  on  the  death  of  Sir  Geo.  Bue 

-The  Facts  About  Shakespeare,  by  Nelson  and  Tliorndike,  p.  26,  1913. 


in  1G23.  Sir  Henry  Herbert  was  a  brother  of  the  poet, 
George  Herbert,  to  whom  Bacon  dedicated  his  "certaine 
Psalmes"  in  1625. 

Philip  Herbert,  Earl  of  Montgomery,  to  whom  jointly 
with  his  brother  the  first  folio  was  dedicated,  married,  in 

1605,  Susan  Vere,  Bacon's  second  cousin.  He  was  fond 
of  horses  and  dogs  and  cared  more  for  sports  than  for 
books.    King  James  I,  bestowed  many  favors  on  him. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  written  to  Bacon 
after  his  fall  by  Sir  Thomas  Meutys  Jan.  3,  1621,  refers 
to  this  Lord,  Philip  Herbert  Earl  of  Montgomery: 
''May  it  please  your  Lordship, 

"This  afternoon  my  Lady^  found  access  to  my 
Lord  Markuis^  procured  for  her  by  my  Lord  Mont- 
gomery and  Sir  Edward  Sackville,  who  seemed  to 
contend  which  of  them  should  show  most  patience 
in  waiting  (which  they  did  a  whole  afternoon)  the 
opportunity  to  bring  my  Lord  to  his  chamber, 
where  my  Lady  attended  him." 
And  again: 

"I  delivered  your  Lordship's  to  my  Lord  of 
Montgomery  and  Mr.  Matthew^  who  was  even  then 
come  to  York-house  to  visit  my  Lady  when  he  re- 
ceived the  letter;  and  as  soon  as  he  had  read  it 
he  said  that  he  had  rather  your  Lordship  had  sent 
him  a  challenge,  and  that  it  had  been  easier  to 
answer  than  so  noble  and  kind  a  letter.    He  intends 
to  see  your  Lordship  some  time  this  week ;  and  so 
cloth  Sir  Edward  Sack^dlle,  who  is  forward  to  make 
my  Lady  a  way  by  the  Prince,  if  your  Lordship 
advise  it."'^ 
The  following  notes  refer  also  to  Philip  Herbert,  Earl 
of  Montgomery.     They  were  written  by  Bacon  in  1623 : 
''There  is  not  an  honester  man  in  court  than  Mont- 
gomery."   (January  2,  1623.)*' 

'Bacon's  wife. 

^Buf'kiiigham. 

'Speddins's  Barnn's  Lcltcvf;  and  Life,  pp.  324-325. 

«//>/(/.,  Vol.  VI  I,  p.  444. 


Later  on  Bacon  again  writes: 

"Montg-omery  is  an  honest  man  and  a  good  observer."' 
Sir  Henry  Herbert,  kinsman  to  the  "most  noble  and 
Incomparable  Paire  of  Brethren,  William  Earle  of  Pem- 
liroke,  &:c.,  Lorde  Chamberlaine  to  the  King's  most  Excel- 
lent Majesty.  And  Philip  Earle  of  Montgomery,  &c., 
Gentleman  to  his  Majestys  Bedchamber.  Both  knights 
01  the  most  Noble  Order  of  the  Garter  and  our  Singular 
good  Lords,"  to  whom  the  first  folio  was  dedicated,  suc- 
ceeded Sir  George  Buc  in  1623  as  Master  of  the  Revels 

although  he  had  acted  as  Buc's  deputy  some  time  before 
this  date,  and  reigned  in  that  office  about  fifty  years, 
Shakespeare's  plays  being  under  his  control  all  that  time. 
Charles  Knight,  in  his  Biography,  says  Shakespeare's 
"successors  in  the  theatrical  property  of  the  Globe  and 
Blackfriars  found  it  to  their  interest  to  preserve  the 
monopoly  of  their  performance  (which  they  had  so  long 
enjo^^ed)  by  a  handsome  gratuity  to  the  Master  of  the 
Revels."  There  is  this  entry  in  the  office  book  of  Sir 
Henry  Herbert,  in  1627:  "Received  from  Mr.  Heming,  in 
their  company's  name,  to  forbid  the  playing  of  Shake- 
speare's plays  to  the  Red  Bull  Company,  five  pounds." 
This  proves  Shakespeare's  plays  could  not  be  performed 
without  permission  of  Philip  Herbert,  Lord  Chamberlain, 
or  his  deputy.  Sir  Plenry  Herbert,  the  Master  of  the 
Revels.  This  old  actor  and  manager,  John  Heminge, 
died  in  1630  and  was  one  of  the  editors  of  Shakespeare's 
dramas  in  the  folio  of  1623.  Most  people  are  under  the 
impression  that  Shakespeare  was  the  manager  of  a  thea- 
tre, as  well  as  the  manager  of  a  company  of  players,  but 
the  fact  is  he  was  never  the  manager  of  either.  My  own 
opinion  is  that  John  Heminge  was  the  manager  of  Lei- 
cester's players  and  continued  to  be  a  manager  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death  in  1630.  To  date  no  mention  of  Shake- 
spi^are  as  having  received  money  for  plays  or  players  has 
been  discovered,  John  Heming  was  undoubtedly  the  man- 
ager and  treasurer  during  all  the  time  our  poet  was  con- 

Uhid,  p.  44G. 

33 


nected  with  the  stage.  Seven  years  after  Shakespeare's 
death  John  Heminge  was  permitted  by  the  Lord  Clianiber- 
lain,  AVilliam  Herbert,  Earl  of  Pembrol^e,  to  publish  the 
collected  manuscripts  of  the  great  dramas,  and  he  and  Con- 
dell  were  allowed  to  dedicate  them  to  this  nobleman  and 
his  brother,  Philip  Herbert,  Earl  of  Montgomery.  In  no 
other  way  could  the  manuscripts  of  these  plays  have  been 
published,  save  by  the  courtesy  of  the  Lord  Chamberlain, 
who  controlled  them  as  well  as  the  King's  Players.  A 
John  Heminge  was  one  of  the  trustees  named  in  the  deed 
of  the  Blackfriars'  property,  fold  to  Shakespeare  in  1613. 
William  Johnson  was  another  of  the  trustees  named  in 
this  deed.  Could  Henry  Walker, ' '  citizein  and  minstrell ' ' 
of  London,  who  sold  the  property  to  Shakespeare,  have 
been  the  husband  of  Alice  Burbage,  sister  of  Eichard,  the 
first  Hamlet?  She  married  a  Walker.  See  the  Lord 
Treasurer  Stanhope's  ''accompte,"  1613,  p.  103.^ 
Thirty  years  ago  Dr.  Appleton  Morgan  wrote  the 

following   to   refute    Donnelly's   "The   Great   Crypto- 
gram/' 

WHY  QUEEN  ELIZABETH  NEGLECTED 
BACON— THAT   CAPIAS 
UTLEGATUM 

"...  Nor  does  it  happen  to  appear  that, 
although  Bacon  was  badly  in  debt  in  and  about 
the  year  1598,  any  of  his  debts  were  allowed 
to  outlaw.  They  had  all  been  paid  or  com- 
pounded for  in  1601.  All  we  know  of  this  threat- 
ened writ  of  capias  utlegatum  is  contained  in 
Bacon's  letter  to  Cecil.  And  Bacon  merely  men- 
tioned it,  as  appears  by  the  context,  to  show  his 
kinsman  how  Coke  took  every  opportunity  of 
insulting  him.  Had  Bacon  been  amenable  to  a 
writ  to  issue  from  the  attorney-general  of  Eng- 
land, the  suggestion  by  the  mouth  of  the  attor- 
ney-general  himself  would   not  have   been   an 

^Shakespeare's  Century  of  Praise,  2nd  Edi. 

34 


insult;  but  a  threat,  a  word  to  tremble  at,  or  to 
turn  to  stone  before.  Sir  Edward  Coke  was  not 
a  man  to  threaten  when  he  could  perform.  He 
performed :  nor  did  he  send  threats  in  advance 
of  his  performance.  It  was,  as  we  have  said, 
an  insulting  reference  to  Bacon's  early  poverty, 
in  the  course  of  a  little  passage  at  arms  between 
two  men  who  perfectly  understood  their  own 
and  each  other's  rights,  powers,  and  privileges. 
Bacon  turned  it,  not  with  an  "apothegm"  (as  he 
called  his  own  ponderously  witty  speeches),  but 
with  a  quiet,  lawyer-like,  and  rather  contemptu- 
ous admission,  coupled  with  an  allusion  to 
Coke's-  utter  impotence  in  the  matter.  And  that 
was  all  there  was  of  it! 

Had  Bacon  quitted  England  on  account  of  his 
authorship  of  the  Shakespeare  plays,  not  only 
Elizabeth,  Coke,  the  judges  at  Essex's  trial  who 
accepted  Bacon's  excuse  for  not  taking  a  certain 
part  in  the  prosecution,  and  the  thirty  or  forty 
editors,  publishers,  printers,  messengers,  and  go- 
betweens  who  printed  that  cipher-covering  First 
Folio  Shakespeare — not  only  all  these,  but  all 
England — would  have  known,  about  three  hun- 
dred years  ago  the  truth.     .     .     . 

I  am  strongly  inclined  to  think,  therefore, 
that  Mr.  Spedding's  incidental  conjecture  that 
Coke's  mention  of  the  capias  utlegatiim  in  the 
recontre  with  Bacon,  was  an  allusion  to  Bacon's 
early  poverty — is,  undoubtedly,  the  fact  of  the 
matter.  If  otherwise,  it  would  certainly  be  and 
remain  a  curiosity  in  the  record  that  a  future 
Lord  Chancellor  of  England  should  have  been 
at  One  time,  in  constructive  breach  of  ban  of  the 
realm  in  whose  afifairs  he  was  to  sit  in  its  highest 
judgment  seat! — The  Albany  Law  Journal,  Vol. 
42,  1890. 

35 


Dorothy  W^cts  a^amft?  ^ Jobnfon  .^^ahifl      17 1 
Brynesof  Severfamo  2      Bacon. 


'','ury. 


Vponetfocncctt)attcnnntGuid-hal,  London,  In  tljc  cafe  of  one  c.  4r.  Eh{ 
Dalcon,  ^I!)CretnDcbtupo!i  an  Obligation,  iit)crctli2«)tatatc of 
tafurj?  iTjasp.eaDeQ,  Jt  teas  faio  bp  Poph»  3f  rman  Icno  100  1.  foj  a 
pear,  anutol)at?c  ioLfo;tt)Gurcofit.  Btftbc^^Dbltgoi  p^pi3  tijc  to  I. 
20  r)aj?3  bcfojc  it  Ic  tjur,  %\\2t  oocs  not  make  tbc  Obligatton  t?ciD ,  be- 
taufcit  tuas  not  corrupt*  IBiit  if  upon  ntalungtbc  obligation,  ttbao  biseit 
agrcctj ,  tbat  t\^t  ten  poimD  Oioiiltibit'c  been  paio  i:  ixUa  tbe  time ,  tbat  fi 
fljoult  Ijaf c  been  ufurp.  llBccaufc  be  bats  rot  tbe  1 00  K  foj  tbe  lubolc  pear, 
Wi\^zv[  tlic  I  ol;  lua3  to  be  pai^j  teitbtii  tbe  rear.  ^\\x\  tjijrDict  Uiaa  oi>;cn 
acco:,oingl^>» 

IC  luas  arrrccD,tbat  if  tbe  Ilojo  maiin  bi3  cliilnin,  be  u  infran* 
-•cbireD,  - 

Dorothy  Watcs  ngalnfl  Brynes  at Severfim.  M<Li^4f 

1  Jji  an  appeal  of  tbe  tieatb  of  ber  ^.lisbafit),  Cbe  SDcfcntjant  tbere,  upon  '^^"ni'cu 
-*  tbe  inui(tmemcnttnas  fount!  gtiiltjp  of  span^flaugbter,  0nD  tbe  iiTuc 
luas  if  b^  kill'D  tljc  !^.i0banti  01  not ,  anD  tbe  cbiDcncc  toas  bcrp  ftrong  a* 
eainft  tbe  SDefcnoant.  ( icil. )  SDb:  begtnniiig  of  tbe  quarrel  tuas,  ;D»t 
Monaay  tbcrc,  tbe  pcrfon  tbat  teas  t-.tH'o  beat  tbe  nolu  a>cfcntjant.  £)n 
Tucfday,  Wats  in  tbcSDcfentJanto  (bop  being  a  5i5atcber ,  flurten  bint  on 
tbe  jl^ofe*    J©n  Wednelday,  Watts,  and  one  BifTei  \t>allnrtg  bp  tbc  fljop, 

ntaoc  ^  tD?p  moutb  at  tbc  2r>efcnDant:  tJUpoit  tubicb  tbc  SDefentiant  comeo 
outoftbefliop,  loitballjojtflwojDbrbinutbebacb  of  Wprrf,anD  ?i'.iC0 
bim  a  great  ftroah  upon  tbe  calf  of  t^;C  icgg,  Uibcrcof  be  oieo,  ^m  t^z 
Court  uircaeo  tbe  3urp  to  fino  it  murtber, 

lohnfon  againfi  Bacon* 

IOhnfon  Of  Grayes-Jnnerecotjereo in Ucbtagainlt Bacon  of  Grays-lnne  riw  to  ^fr.in 
upon  a  bonn  of  400  !♦  Mbere  tbe  conuitiontoaa  to  fabe  barmleffe,  htin^  ^'"^'^^ 
Hrurctpfoj  Bacon*  0nD  Bacon  tbas  outlaiucu  after  Bi^^^g^nicnt:  0nQ  a 
cap*  utKij^at.  toasuclibcreD  to  tbc  ^bcriff  in  Court.  ;3nD  noiu  Bacon 
b?ougbt  crroar*  0nb  luoultj  afoign  errois  loitbout  jn'rlmng  bi^ttfelf  in 
execution,,  quod  contra  legem*  315ptbe  Cierhs,  Si^bataman  outlalocD 
map  not  taUc  benefit  of  tbe  llato,  toitbout  a  fubmifsion  to  it. 

36 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  ''CAPIAS   UTLEGATVM" 

INSULT   OFFERED   TO    BACON   BY   QUEEN 

ELIZABETH'S    ATTORNEY    GENERAL, 

SIR  EDAVARD  COKE. 

ToLilmiu  Smith  said:  ''He  ivho  unfolds  to  his  felloiv- 
men  one  single  truth  that  has  heretofore  laid  hidden  has 
not  lived  in  vain."  I  may  add  especially  if  that  truth  is 
about  Bacon.  The  fact  I  have  discovered  will  at  least 
establish  what  before  was  unknown  to  his  biographers; 
and  it  is  connected  with  William  Johnson,  the  gentleman 
who  personated  the  Lord  Chancellor  in  the  Gesta  Gray- 
orum.  This  William  Johnson  '^of  Staple  Inn"  was  ad- 
mitted to  Grays  Inn  in  1578.  (See  Foster's  Regis,  of 
Grays  Inn,  p.  52.) 

The  discovered  fact  will  also  take  the  strongest  prop 
from  under  Donnelly's  cipher  story  in  his  Great  Crypto- 
gram. To  those  unfamiliar  with  the  Attorney  General 
Cokes  insult  offered  to  Bacon  in  the  Exchequer  in  1601, 
and  how  Bacon  smarted  under  it,  the  following  letter 
found  by  Murden  in  the  Hatfield  Collection,  and  first 
published  by  Birch  will  explain: 

To  Mr.  Secretary  Cecil 

It  may  please  your  Honour, 

Because  we  live  in  an  age,  where  every  man's  im- 
perfections is  but  another's  fable;  and  that  there  fell 
out  an  accident  in  the  Exchequer,  which  I  know  not  how, 
nor  how  soon,  may  be  traduced,  though  I  dare  trust 
rumour  in  it,  except  it  be  malicious,  or  extreme  partial ; 
I  am  bold  now  to  possess  your  Honour,  as  one,  that  ever 


338486 


1  found  careful  of  my  advancement,  and  yet  more  jealous^ 
of  my  wrongs,  with  the  truth  of  that,  which  passed ;  de- 
ferring my  farther  request,  untill  I  may  attend  your 
honour :  and  so  I  continue 

Your  Honour's  very  humble 
and  particularly  bounden, 
Gray's-Inn,  this  24th  of  April,  1601. 

Fk.  Bacon. 

A  true  remembrance  of  the  abuse  I  received  of  Mr.  At- 
torney General  publicly   in   the  Exchequer   the  first 
clay  of  term;  for  the  truth  whereof  I  refer  myself  to- 
all  that  ivere  present. 

1  moved  to  have  a  reseizure  of  the  lands  of  Geo.  Moore^ 
a  relapsed  recusant,  a  fugitive,  and  a  practising  traytor ; 
and  shewed  better  matter  for  the  Queen  against  the 
discharge  by  plea,  which  is  ever  with  a  salvo  jure.  And 
this  I  did  in  as  gentle  and  reasonable  terms  as  might  be. 

Mr.  Attorney  kindled  at  it,  and  said,  "Mr.  Bacon,  if 
you  have  any  tooth  against  me,  pluck  it  out;  for  it  will 
do  you  more  hurt,  than  all  the  teeth  in  your  head  will 
do  you  good."  I  answered  coldly  in  these  very  words: 
"Mr.  Attorney,  I  respect  you:  I  fear  you  not:  and  the 
less  you  speak  of  your  own  greatness,  the  more  I  will 
think  of  it." 

He  replied,  "I  think  scorn  to  stand  upon  terms  of 
greatness  towards  you,  who  are  less  than  little ;  less  than 
the  least;"  and  other  such  strange  light  terms  he  gave 

me,  with  that  insultin"',  which  cannot  be  expressed.  Here- 
with stirred,  yet  I  said  no  more  but  this:  "Mr.  Attor- 
ney, do  not  depress  me  so  far ;  for  I  have  been  your  better, 
and  may  be  again,  when  it  please  the  Queen.'' 

With  this  he  spake,  neither  I  nor  himself  could  tell 
what,   as  if  he  had  been  born  Attorney  General;   and 

38 


in  the  end  bade  me  not  meddle  with  the  Queen's  business, 
but  with  mine  own ;  and  that  I  was  unsworn,  &c.  I  told 
him,  sworn  or  unsworn  was  all  one  to  an  honest  man; 
and  that  I  ever  set  my  service  first,  and  myself  second; 
and  wish'd  to  God,  that  he  would  do  the  like. 

Then  he  said,  it  were  good  to  clap  a  cap.  utlegatum 
upon  my  back!  To  which  I  only  said  he  could  not;  and 
that  he  was  at  fault ;  for  he  hunted  upon  an  old  scent. 

He  gave  me  a  number  of  disgracefull  words  besides; 
which  I  answered  with  silence,  and  shewing,  that  I  was 
not  moved  with  tliem." 

Bacon's  answer  to  Coke:  ''To  which  I  only  said  he 
could  not;  and  that  he  was  at  fault;  for  he  hunted  upon 
an  old  scent,"  haunted  me  for  vears.  If  he  had  said  Coke 
'hunted  upon  a  icrong  scent'  I  would  have  dismissed  it 
without  further  thought.  Bacon's  words,  like  Ham- 
let's, were  never  wasted — he  weighed  them  before  he 
spoke.  So  I  took  up  the  thread  where  he  dropped  it  and 
began  the  search  for  the  truth. 

It  seemed  to  me  Coke  was  too  good  a  lawyer  to  subject 
himself  to  a  libel  suit,  and  much  as  he  hated  Bacon  he 
had  not  out  of  sheer  malice  invented  the  story,  if  there 
was  one.  Spedding  thought  Coke's  insult  referred  to 
Bacon's  arrest  for  debt  in  1598.  See  his  Letters  and  Life 
of  Bacon,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  3. 

If  the  reader  will  turn  to  Spedding's  Letters  and  Life  of 
Bacon,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  42,  he  will  find  there  a  statement 
drawn  up  by  Bacon  in  1601  which  relates  to  his  indebted- 
ness to  Nicholas  Trott,  who  was  made  a  barrister  of 
Grays  Inn  July,  1584 — the  same  Trott  who  in  1588  as- 
sisted Bacon  in  the  Misfortunes  of  Arthur,  which  they 
played  before  the  Queen  at  her  palace  of  Greenwich. 

In  the  above  statement  of  Bacon's  are  these  items: 

^'He   [Trott]   received  about  two  years  since  of  Mr. 

.89 


Johnson  of  Grays  Inn,  being  my  surety  for  2001.  prin- 
cipal.    .     .     . 
He  hatli  now  secured  unto  him  by  mortgage  of 

Twicknani   Park    12591.  12.s. 

Upon  my  Cousin  Cook's  band 2101. 

Upon  Mr.  Ed.  Jones'  band 2081. 

Upon  my  own  band 2021. 

In  the  Gesta  Grayorum  this  Mr.  Ed.  Jones  was  Secre- 
tary of  State.    He  was  ^'a  great  translator  of  books" 
also.     We  see  Bacon,  like  Shakespeare,  uses  the  word 
hand  for  bond.    See  The  Comedy  of  Errors,  IV.,  2. 
Adr.     Tell  me  was  he  arrested  on  a  handf 
Dro.  S.    Not  on  a  hand,  hut  on  a  stronger  thing. 


u 


Revealing  day  through  every  cranny  peeps:' 

And  through  the  above  cranny  I  hoped  William  John- 
son of  Grays  Inn  might  lead  me  to  something  in  connec- 
tion with  Bacon's  debts  and  his  arrest  in  1598.  The 
reader  may  smile  when  I  say  it  took  me  twenty  years 
to  trace  the  mystery  of  the  Capias  Utlegatum.  I  exam- 
ined hundreds  of  musty  old  books  and  manuscripts  in 
connection  with  my  other  researches,  and  in  1896  I  found 
my  "atom,"  which  I  hope  the  reader  will  not  think  I 
am  making  into  a  mountain.  Mr.  Gosse  finely  expresses 
it  when  he  says:  ''All  critical  work  nowadays  must  be 
done  on  the  principle  of  the  coral  insects.  No  one  can 
hope  to  do  more  than  to  place  his  atom  on  the  mass  that 
those  who  preceded  him  have  constructed." 

But  to  return  to  William  Johnson  who  played  the 
Lord  Chancellor  in  the  Gesta  Grayorum.  The  following 
extracts  relating  to  him  have  been  taken  from  The  Pen- 
sion Booh  of  Grays  Inn: 

40 


1591  PENSION  16th  June,  33  Eliz.:  Present:— 
ANGER,  WHISKINS,  DANYELL,  SPURLING, 
POLEY,  FULLER,  BACON,  PELHAM,  LAN- 
CASTER, SENTLEGER,  BETTENHAM  and 
LANY. 

Cotton,  G.,  Mingay,  Johnson,  W.,  and  Dolman, 
called  to  the  Bar  by  Mr.  Jermy  Bettenham  in 
August  last  past,  are  allowed  and  confirmed  utter 
barristers,    p.  93. 

In  May  35  Eliza.,  1593,  he  was  ' 'chosen  of  the  graunde 
company."    Unci,  p.  1^0. 

1595  PENSION  11th  Feb:  37  Eliz:  Present :—BRO- 
GRAVE,  ANGER,  POOLEY,  FULLER,  LAN- 
CASTER, PELHAM,  NIGHTINGALE. 

"It  ys  orderyd  that  Mr.  William  Mills  shalbe 
intreatyd  to  delyver  unto  Mr.  Willm  Johnson  and 
Mr.  Edward  Morrys  the  some  of  one  hundryd 
marks  to  be  payd  out  &  bestowyd  upon  the  gentle- 
men for  their  sports  &  shewes  this  Shrovetyde  at 
the  court  before  the  Queens  Majestic  1  &  the  same 
hundryd  marks  to  be  payd  agayne  to  the  said  Mr. 
Mills  hys  exec :  or  assigns  before  thend  of  the  next 
term."    Ibid,  p.  107. 

The  able  editor  of  The  Pension  Book  of  Grays  Inn  has 
this  foot  note  relating  to  the  Gesta  Grayorum: 

Note  1. — There  has  been  a  notable  keeping  of  Christ- 
mas in  1594.  On  December  12th  a  Prince  of  Purpoole 
was  elected,  and  an  ambassador  from  the  Inner  Temple 
invited  to  his  Court.  On  December  20th,  the  Prince 
(one  Mr.  Helmes)  was  duly  enthroned,  his  champion 
riding  into  the  hall  and  proclaiming  his  titles  as  Prince 
of  Purpoole,  Archduke  of  Stapulia  and  Bernardia,  Duke 

41 


of  the  High  and  Nether  Holborn,  Marquis  of  St.  Giles' 
and  Tottenham,  Count  Palatine  of  Bloomsbury  and 
Clerkenwell,  Great  Lord  of  the  Cantons  of  Islington,  etc. 
Ou  Holy  Innocents'  Day  the  ambassador  of  Templaria 
presented  his  credentials.  But  ''then  arose  such  a  dis- 
•cordered  tumult  and  crowd  upon  the  stage  that  there  was 
no  opportunity  to  effect  what  was  intended:  there  came 
so  great  a  number  of  worshipful  personages  upon  the 
stage  that  might  not  be  displaced, ' '  that  the  performance 
was  abandoned  and  the  Temple  ambassador  retired  in 
a  huff.  ''In  regard  whereof  ...  it  was  thought 
good  not  to  offer  anything  of  account,  saving  dancing 
and  revelling  with  gentlewomen;  and  after  such  sports 
a  Comedy  of  Errors  (like  to  Plautns  his  MenecJimus) 
was  played  by  the  players.  So  that  night  was  begun 
and  continued  to  the  end  in  nothing  but  confusion  and 
<^rrors."  On  January  3rd  the  ambassador  was  again 
present,  a  Council  was  held,  for  which  Spedding  thinks 
Bacon  wrote  the  speeches,  and  peace  concluded  with 
Templaria.  But  the  crowning  event  in  the  reign  of  the 
Prince  of  Purpoole  was  the  masque  which  he  and  his  fol- 
lowers performed,  by  permission,  before  the  Queen. 
'Twas  a  poor  thing,  but  their  own,  and  "Her  Majesty 
graced  every  one;  particularly  she  thanked  His  High- 
ness for  the  good  performance  of  all  that  was  done ;  and 
wished  that  their  sports  had  continued  longer,  for  the 
pleasure  she  took  therein;  which  may  appear  by  her  an- 
swer to  the  Courtiers  that  danced  a  measure  immediately 
after  the  Masque  was  ended;  saying,  'What!  shall  we 
have  bread  and  cheese  after  a  banquet?'  "  The  masquers 
kissed  hands,  and  Her  Majesty  said  she  was  much  be- 
holden to  Gray's  Inn  "for  that  it  did  always  study  for 
some  sports  to  present  unto  her,"  So  says  the  Gesta 
Grayorum;  and,  though  it  was  not  printed  till  1688,  one 

•12 


takos  it  for  a  genuine  work  of  one  of  tlie  masquers,  not 
forgetting-  to  appreciate  the  naive  expression  of  a  low 
esteem  for  the  ''Comedy  of  Errors"  and  its  author. 
Ibid,  pp.  107-108. 

1595  PENSION  8th  May,  37  Eliz:  Present  :—BRO- 
GRAVE,  ANGER,  POOLEY,  FULLER,  BACON, 
PELHAM,  LANY,  NIGHTINGALE  and  BAR- 
KER. 

"At  this  pencion  it  is  ordred  that  every  Reader 
of  this  house  towards  the  charges  of  the  shewes 
&  desports  before  her  Majestie  at  shrovetyde  last 
past  shall  pay  tenne  shillings  &  evrye  Auncient 
vis  viiid  &  evrye  utterbarester  vs,  evrye  other 
gentleman  of  this  societe  iiiis  before  tliend  of  this 
term  whether  they  be  in  comons  or  lying  in  the 
house  or  about  the  same  house  &  this  collection 
to  contynew  tyll  tliend  of  the  next  terme  &  the 
house  towards  the  aforesaid  charges  is  to  allowe 
out  of  the  publique  stock  of  the  said  house  the 
some  xxxli."^ 

1595         ....     "It  is  further  ordered  at  this  pencion 
that  vili  claymed  by  one  Mr.  Segar  the  Quens  serv- 
ant^ for  nyne  sheilds '  their  emprisses  be  discharged 
in  part  of  payment  whereof  iiili  xvis  viiid  received 
for  Mr.  Terninghams  fyne  admitted  this  pencion 
was  delyvered  over  to  Mr.  Johnson  for  that  use." 
Note.  1. — This  would  be  William  Segar,  who  was  dur- 
ing this  reign  successively  Somerset  herald  and  Norroy 
King-at-arms.     Early  in  the   reign  he  became   Garter 
King-at-arms,  and  in  1616  was  knighted.    In  the  following 
year  he  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  Inn.    Ihid,  p.  111. 

43 


1597  ..  .  .  .  "It  is  ordered  that  Mr.  Laney  shall 
pay  unto  Mr.  Johnson  out  of  the  admittance  money 
the  sum  of  iiili  viiis  &  xd  in  full  discharge  of  all 
the  charges  remanent  for  the  Christmas  sports 
Ano  34Eliz:  Eeg:"    Ibid, -p.  129. 

We  have  now  traced  William  Johnson  of  Grays  Inn 
from  May,  1591,  to  the  10th  of  November,  1597,  and  find 
him  always  connected  with  sports,  masques  and  plays 
and  the  admittance  money  for  same.  Therefore  I  do 
not  think  it  too  much  of  a  conjecture  to  say  I  believe 
the  money  he  lent  Bacon  was  largely  spent  on  these 
masques  and  revels  at  Grays  Inn,  of  which  Bacon  w^as 
in  his  youth  so  fond.  Laney,  above  mentioned,  was  the 
Pursueuant  of  Arutf^  in  the  (iesta  Grayorium. 

In  Spedding's  Letters  and  Life  of  Bacon,  Vol.  Y.,  p.  86, 
Bacon  recommends  a  Mr.  Noy  as  a  law  reporter,  and 
refers  to  him  as  "learned  and  diligent,  and  conversant 
in  Reports  and  Records."  This  gentleman,  afterwards 
Sir  William  Noy,  became  Attorney  General  to  Charles  I. 
And  it  was  in  his  "Reports  and  Cases  taken  in  the  Time 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  King  James,  and  King  Charles, 
Collected  and  Reported  by  that  learned  Lawyer,"  .etc. 
1656,  that  I  found  the  source  or  origin  of  the  Capias  Utla- 
gatum  Coke  would  have  clapped  upon  Bacon's  back,  and 
how  William  Johnson  of  Grays  Inn  was  connected  with 
it.  Although  I  have  had  the  title-page  and  the  passage 
relating  to  "Johnson  against  Bacon"  reproduced  by 
photography  (p.  36)  I  will  (piote  it  here:  "Johnson 
of  Grays  Inn  recovered  in  debt  against  Bacon  of  Grays 
Inn  upon  a  bond  of  4001.  Where  the  condition  was  to 
save  harmlesse,  being  surety  for  Bacon.  And  Bacon 
w^as  outlawed  after  Judgment:  and  a  cap.  utlegat.  was 
delivered   to    the    Sheriff   in    Court.    And   now   Bacon 

44 


brought  erronr.  And  would  assign  errors  without  yield- 
ing himself  in  Execution,  quod  contra  legem.  By  the 
Clerks,  that  a  man  outlawed  may  not  take  benefit  of  the 
Law,  without  a  submission  to  it."  The  question  arises  How 
did  Bacon  get  out  of  this  scrape?  I  have  made  the  fol- 
.  lowing  note :  "A  barrister  of  Grays  Inn  Avas  privileged 
from  arrest,"  and  signed  it  Kenipe  1G02,  p.  424,  but  do  not 
recollect  where  I  found  it ;  but  I  have  extracted  the  follow- 
ing from  Mr.  Fletcher's  able  Introduction  to  The  Pension 
Book  of  Grays  Inn,  upon  which  I  have  so  largely  drawn  for 
this  work. 

P  XLI  The  Benchers  administrated  their  own  local 
government. 

P  XLI  The  Pension  was  also  the  police  authority  for 
the  Inn.  No  Dogberry  entered  there.  It  was 
by  the  private  servants  of  the  Society  that  the 
courts  were  patrolled  and  the  gates  gTiarded. 
The  Inns  of  Court  were  fully  recognized  as 
''priviledged  and  exempted  places,"  and  the 
Benchers  as  having  within  their  precincts  a 
special  jurisdiction." 

And  at  a  Pension  23  Jan.,  1588: 

''It  is  also  ordered  that  Mr.  Dryver  shall  pay  to  Mr. 
Thurbaine  for  that  he  arested  Mr.  Thurbaine  upon  an 
action  of  the  case  for  slaunder  without  the  consent  of 
the  Eeders  that  he  satisfye  Mr.  Thurbaine  all  charge? 
recompenced  him  by  order  of  the  court  where  the  suit 
was  had."    Ihid.,  p.  78. 

Showing  Mr.  Dryver  had  no  right  to  arrest  a  member 
of  Grays  Inn  without  the  ''Eeders'  "  consent.  We  now 
come  to  Bacon's  letter  complaining  of  his  arrest  in  1598 

45 


which  was  found  in  the  Hatfield  Collection  by  Murden, 
and  printed  first  by  Birch  (1763). 

To  Sir  Thomas  Egerton,  Lord  Keeper   of  the   Great 

Seal 

It  may  please  your  Lordship, 

I  am  to  make  humble  complaint  to  your  Lordship  of 
some  hard  dealing  offered  me  by  one  Sympson,  a  gold- 
smith, a  man  noted  much,  as  I  have  heard,  for  extrem- 
ities and  stoutness  upon  his  purse:  but  yet  I  could 
scarcely  have  imagined,  he  would  have  dealt  either  so 
dishonestly  towards  myself,  or  so  contemptuously 
towards  her  Majesty's  service.  For  this  Lombard  (par- 
don me,  I  most  humbly  pray  your  Lordship,  if  being 
admonished  by  the  street  he  dwells  in,  I  give  him  that 
name)  having  me  in  bond  for  3001.  principal,  and  I  hav- 
ing the  last  term  confessed  the  action,  and  by  his  full 
and  direct  consent,  respited  the  satisfaction  till  the  begin- 
ning of  this  term  to  come,  without  ever  giving  me  warn- 
ing, either  by  letter  or  message,  served  an  execution  upon 
me,  having  trained  me  at  such  time,  as  I  came  from  the 
Tower,  where,  Mr.  "VVaad  can  witness,  we  attended  a 
service  of  no  mean  importance.  Neither  would  he  so 
much  as  vouchsafe  to  come  and  speak  with  me  to  take 
any  order  in  it,  thought  I  sent  for  him  divers  times,  and 
his  house  was  just  by;  handling  it  as  upon  a  despite, 
being  a  man  I  never  provoked  with  a  cross  word,  no  nor 
with  many  delays.  He  would  have  urged  it  to  have  had 
me  in  prison;  which  he  had  done,  had  not  Sheriff  More, 
to  whom  I  sent,  gently  recommended  me  to  an  handsome 
house  in  Coleman-street,  where  I  am.  Now  because  he 
will  not  treat  with  me,  I  am  inforced  humbly  to  desire 
your  Lordship  to  send  for  him,  according  to  your  place^ 

46 


to  bring"  liim  to  some  reason ;  and  this  forthwith,  because 
I  continue  here  to  my  farther  discredit  and  inconvenience, 
and  the  trouble  of  the  gentleman,  with  whom  I  am.  I 
have  an  hundred  pounds  lying  by  me,  which  he  may 
have,  and  the  rest  upon  some  reasonable  time  and  se- 
curity; or,  if  need  be,  the  whole;  but  with  my  more 
trouble.  As  for  the  contempt  he  hath  offered,  in  regard 
her  Majesty's  service,  to  my  understanding,  carrieth  a 
privilege  eundo  et  redeundo  in  meaner  causes,  much  more 
in  matters  of  this  nature,  especially  in  persons  known 
to  be  qualified  with  that  place  and  employment,  which 
though  unworthy,  I  am  vouchsafed,  I  inforce  nothing, 
thinking  I  have  done  my  part,  when  I  have  made  it 
known;  and  so  leave  it  to  your  Lordship's  honourable 
consideration.  And  so  with  signification  of  my  humble 
duty,  &c. 

His  next  letter  (also  found  in  the  Hatfield  Collection) 
is  to  his  first  cousin,  Sir  Robert  Cecil,  son  of  his  Aunt 
Mildred  Cooke,  who  was  Lord  Burghley's  second  wife. 
Sir  Robert  Cecil  was  Queen  Elizabeth's  Secretary  from 
1596  to  the  end  of  her  reign,  1603,  and  was  reappointed 
bv  James  L 

To  Sir  Egbert  Cecil,  Secretary  of  State. 
It  may  please  your  Honour, 

T  liuml)ly  pray  you  to  understand  how  badly  I  have 
been  used  by  the  inclosed,  being  a  copy  of  a  letter  of 
complaint  thereof,  which  I  have  written  to  the  Lord 
Keeper.  How  sensitive  you  are  of  wrongs  offered  to 
your  blood  in  my  particular,  I  have  had  not  long  since 
experience.  But  herein  I  think  your  Honour  will  be 
doubly  sensitive,  in  tenderness  also  of  the  indignity  to 
her  Majesty's  service.  For  as  for  me,  Mr.  Sympson 
might  have  had  me  every  day  in  London;  and  therefore 

47 


to  belay  me,  while  lie  knew  I  came  from  the  Tower  about 
her  Majesty's  special  service,  was  to  my  understanding 
very  bold.  And  two  days  before  he  brags  he  forbore 
me,  because  I  dined  with  Sheriff  More.  So  as  with  Mr. 
Sympson,  examinations  at  the  Tower  are  not  so  great 
a  privilege,  eundo  et  redeundo,  as  Sheriff  More's  dinner. 
But  this  complaint  I  make  in  duty;  and  to  that  end  have 
also  informed  my  Lord  of  Essex  thereof;  for  otherwise 
Ms  punishment  will  do  me  no  good. 

So  with  signification  of  my  humble  duty,  I  commend 
your  Honour  to  the  divine  preservation. 
From   Coleman-street,   this   24th  of   September    [1598.] 
At  your  honourable  command  particularly, 

Fe.  Bacon. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  the  following  letter  to  Bacon's 
cousin,  Cecil,  although  dated  July,  1603,  relates  to  the 
above  arrest.    It  may  please  your  good  Lordship, 

In  answer  to  your  last  letter,  your  money  shall  be 
ready  before  your  day,  principal,  interest,  and  costs  of 
suit.  So  the  sheriff  promised,  when  I  released  errors; 
and  a  Jew  takes  no  more.  The  rest  cannot  be  forgotten ; 
for  I  cannot  forget  your  Lordship's  dum  memor  ipse  mei: 
and  if  there  have  been  aliquid  nimis,  it  shall  be  amended. 
And,  to  be  plain  with  your  Lordship,  that  will  quicken 
me  now,  which  slackened  me  before.  Then  I  thought 
you  might  have  had  more  use  of  me,  than  now,  I  suppose, 
you  are  like  to  have.  Not  but  I  think  the  impediment 
will  be  rather  in  my  mind,  than  in  the  matter  or' times. 
But  to  do  you  service,  I  will  come  out  of  my  religion  at 
any  time. 

For  my  knighthood,  I  wish  the  manner  might  be 
such,  as  might  grace  me,  since  the  matter  will  not:  I 
mean,  that  I  might  not  be  merely  gregarious  in  a  troop. 

48 


The  coronation  is  at  band.     It  may  please  your  Lord- 
ship to  let  me  hear  from  you  speedily.     So  I  continue 
Your  Lordship's  ever  much  bounden, 

Fr.  Bacon. 
From  Gorhambury,  this  16th  of  July,  1603. 


49 


FEANCIS    BACON'S    CONNECTION    WITH   WAR- 
WICKSHIRE AND  THE  FOREST  OF  ARDEN 

None  of  Bacon's  biographers  have  connected  him  with 
Warwickshire  or  the  Forest  of  Arden,  where  Shakespeare 
found : 

^'Tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones  and  good  in  everything." 

Yet  here  in  the  midst  of  this  Forest,  his  maternal 
grandfather,  Sir  Anthony  Cooke,  the  learned  tutor  to 
King  Edward  VL,  owned  one  of  the  most  ancient  estates 
in  all  Warwickshire.  It  was  near  enough  to  Kenilworth 
Castle,  given  by  Elizabeth  to  her  favorite  Robert  Dudley, 
Earl  of  Leicester,  for  Sir  Anthony  Cooke  and  his  family 
to  attend  without  fatigue,  the  entertainment  given  to 
the  Queen  in  the  summer  of  1575.  I  have  no  doubt  young 
Francis  Bacon  was  there  with  his  father.  Sir  Nicholas 
Bacon,  Elizabeth's  Lord,  keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,  his 
mother  Lady  Anne,  and  his  aunts  Lady  Cecil,  Lord  Bur- 
leigh's wife,  and  Lady  Russell,  wife  to  Sir  John  Russell, 
as  they  were  attached  to  the  Court.  Sir  John  RusselPs  sis- 
ter married  Ambrose  Dudley,  Earl  of  Warwick,  who  was 
the  Earl  of  Leicester's  brother.  There  are  passages  in  the 
plays  of  Shakespeare  which  have  led  many  to  think  that 
he  was  present  at  these  grand  sports  and  shewes,  al- 
though only  in  his  eleventh  year.  But  a  genius  like 
Shakespeare  would  be  wonderfully  impressed  and  acute 
even  at  this  age.  There  was  a  rustic  wedding  performed 
before  the  Queen  at  this  time,  which  may  have  sown  the 
seed  in  the  poet's  mind  for  the  love  scenes  in  As  You 
Like  It  between  Touchstone  and  Audrey. 

As  for  Francis  Bacon  he  went  abroad  the  very  next 

50 


year  with  Elizabeth's  Euibassadore,  (Sir  Aniia.s  Poiilet, 
to  be  bred  a  statesman,  according  to  the  wishes  of  his 
father,  whose  favorite  son  he  was.  Born  in  1560-1,  he 
was  now  in  his  sixteenth  year,  and  was  accompanied 
abroad  by  a  companion,  a  Mr.  Buncombe.  Young  Fran- 
cis Bacon  was  ''not  bound  to  any  vacations"  either  at 
Cambridge  or  Grays  Inn,  on  account  of  his  health,  which,, 
like  his  brother  Anthony's,  had  always  been  delicate. 
This  is  another  reason  for  thinking  he  was  at  Kenilwortli 
in  the  summer  of  1575,  for  I  find  he  was  out  of  Cam- 
bridge when  the  entertainment  to  the  Queen  took  place. 
Elizabeth,  wdio  had  known  him  from  birth,  would  some- 
times call  him  her  ''young  Lord-keeper,"  and  be  de- 
lighted to  confer  with  him  often  alone.  Like  MamiUlus, 
he  could  tell  marvelous  stories,  I  imagine,  and  I  venture 
to  say  no  princely  child  could  be  more  courteous  and 
polished  in  all  her  court  than  this  son  of  Lady  Anne 
Bacon's,  who  had  been  governess  to  King  Edward  VI. 
up  to  his  seventh  year.  Under  his  mother's  tuition  he 
was  able  to  enter  Cambridge  in  April,  1573,  at  the  age 
of  twelve  years  and  three  months  old.  In  June,  1575,  he 
and  his  brother  Anthony  were  admitted  ancients  to 
Grays  Inn.  Spedding  says  this  was  "a  privilege  to 
which  they  were  entitled  as  the  sons  of  a  Judge."  The 
following  from  the  Pension  Book  of  Grays  Inn,  1576,, 
is  interesting: 


'& 


1576  PENSION  21st  Nov:  15  Eliz.  Present :—GER- 
EARD,  BARTON,  KYTCHIN,  CHISNOLD, 
COLBYE,  SHUTE,  ANGER,  WHISKINS,  YEL- 
VERTON,  SNAGG,  CARDINALL  and  BRO- 
GRAVE. 

"It  is  ordered  that  Mr.  Edward  Bacon  shalbe 
admitted   in   my  Lorde   Kepers   chamber   in   the 

51 


absence  of  Mr.  Nicholas  Bacon  his  sonne  &  that 
Mr.  Anthony  shalbe  admitted  in  the  same  chamber 
in  the  absence  of  Mr.  Nathaniell  Bacon." 

'•It  is  forther  ordered  that  all  his  sonnes  now 
admitted  of  the  honsse  viz : — Nicholas,  Nathaniell, 
Edward,  Anthonye,  &  Francis  shalbe  of  the 
graund  company  and  not  to  be  bound  to  any  vaca- 
cions."  p.  27. 
Bacon,  who  only  ''lived  to  study,"  was  by  his  father's 

sudden  death  called  back  to  England  in  March,  1578-9. 

As  he  had  been  left  with  little  means,  he  took  up  his 

lodgings  in  Grays  Inn  and  began  the  study  of  law  as  he 

himself  tells  us — to  "study  to  live." 
The  Pension  Book  of  Grays  Inn  proves  his  health  was 

still  delicate  in  1580 : 

1580        "Mr.  Francis  Bacon  in  respect  to  his  healthe  is 
allowed  to  have  the  benefitt  of  a  special  admittance 
with  all  benefitts  and  p'rivileges  to  a  speciall  ad- 
mittance belongeng  for  the  fyne  of  xP."    p.  43. 
Let  us  now  return  to  Bacon's  connection  with  and  his 
kinsmen  in  Warwickshire,  where  Shakespeare  "warbled 
his  wood-notes  wild."    I  found  the  following  interesting 
items  relating  to  Bacon,  in  1589,  in  Benjamin  Bartlett's 
Manduessediim  Romanorum.,  p.  105 : 

31  Elizabeth,  Indenture  between  Sir  Henry  Goodere, 

1589,  Feb.  20      Knt.,  of  Polesworth,  and  Frances,  his 

daughter,  on  one  part,  and  William 
Cook,  of  St.  Martin's,  Esq.  Francis 
Bacon,  of  Gray's  Inn,  Esq.,  and  Weston 
Shaw,  servant  to  William  Cook,  on  the 
other.  In  consideration  of  3001.  Sir 
Henry  Goodere  and  Frances,  his  daugh- 
ter, convey  to  said  Francis  Bacon  and 
Weston  Shaw  all  the  tythes  of  corn,  &c., 

52 


in  Hartsliill,  with  all  such  ri^-ht  as  they 
the  said  Sir  Henry  and  his  daughter 
have  by  virtue  of  an  indenture  dated 
July  6,  29  Elizabeth,  between  William 
Parker,  of  Hartsliill,  and  Katharine,  his 
wife,  and  Sir  Henry  Goodere  and 
Frances,  his  daughter. 

31  Elizabeth,  Indenture  of  fine  between  Sir  Henry 

Hilary  Term.      Goodere    and    Frances,    his    daughter, 

petitioners,  Robert  Parker  and  Kath- 
arine, his  wife,  deforcients,  of  all  the 
tythes  in  Hartshill. 

31  Elizabeth,  Assignment  from  Francis  Bacon  and 

June  13.  Weston  Shaw  to  Mr.  Cook  of  the  tythes 

in  Hartshill. 

To  the  student  of  Baconian  lore,  these  Indentures  are 
crammed  full  of  the  names  of  interesting  people.  Sir 
Henry  Goodere,  knt.  of  Polesworth,  being  no  other  than 
Drayton's  "mild  tutor"  in  poetry,  whose  daughter,  Anne 
Goodere,  Drayton  ''deified"  in  his  heart,  under  his 
"Idea"  sonnets,  Drayton  was  born  in  Hartshill  in  that 
fair  Arden  immortalized  by  Shakespeare  in  As  You  Like 
It,  close  to  the  castelated  mansion  of  the  Cookes.  A 
Henry  Goodere,  Alderman  of  London,  had  a  son  Wil- 
liam, who  married  Anne  Cooke  of  London.  Our  Sir 
Henry  Goodere  of  Polesworth  married  Frances,  da.  of 
Hugh  Lowther,  and  thej^  had  two  daughters — Anne,  who 
was  Drayton's  ''Idea'"  and  became  the  wife  of  Sir  Henry 
Rainsford  of  Stratford-on-Avon,  and  Frances  Goodere, 
who  married  her  first  cousin.  Sir  Henry  Goodere,  and  is 
the  Frances  mentioned  in  the  Indentures  to  Bacon.  A 
branch  of  the  Goodere  family  lived  in  St.  Albans,  and  a 
Sir  Francis  Goodier  married  Ursula,  sister  and  heir  of 
Sir    Ralph    Rowlett,    Knight.      Bacon's    youngest    aunt, 

53 


Margaret  Cooke,  became  the  wife  of  a  Sir  Ralph  Eowlett 
of  St.  Albans.  She  died  in  1588.  See  Machines  Diary,. 
and  Harl  MSS.,  1167.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  the  Gooderes 
were  related  to  Bacon  and  the  Cooke  family.  No  line 
has  come  down  from  Bacon's  pen  to  even  hint  he  was 
acquainted  with  Michael  Dayton,  the  poet,  who  was  born 
at  Hartshill  and  brought  up  by  the  gentle  Goodere  fami- 
ly. This,  I  think,  ought  to  .strengthen  my  conjecture 
that  Bacon  knew  Shakespeare,  although  no  record  has 
been  discovered  to  tell  us  so. 

It  was  in  June,  1589,  Francis  Bacon  assigned  the 
tythes  of  Hartshill  to  Sir  William  Cooke,  his  cousin,  and 
we  are  told  Shakespeare  fled  to  London  in  1587.  This 
Sir  William  Cooke  married  Joyce  Lucy,  the  daughter 
and  heiress  of  Sir  Thomas  Lucy,  who  was  the  son  and 
heir  of  Shakespeare's  Justice  Shallow  in  the  Merry 
Wives  of  Windsor.  Halliwell  Phillips,  in  his  Shakes- 
peare's Tours,  1887,  p.  6,  has  this  about  Shakespeare's 
Sir  Thomas  Lucy: 

*'Sir  Thomas  Lucy,  the  avenger  of  the  Charlecote  esca- 
pade, was  the  patron  of  a  body  of  itinerant  actors," 
then  quotes  from  the  Chamberlain's  accounts  at  Coven- 
try, 1584:  "To  Sir  Thomas  Lucy's  players  X.  S."  If 
Sir  Thomas  had  taken  Shakespeare  into  his  home  like 
Sir  Henry  Goodere  had  taken  Drayton,  what  a  differ- 
ence it  would  have  made  in  our  poet's  life ! 

To  Benjamin  Bartlett's  Mandnessedum  Romanorum: 
heing  the  History  of  the  Parish  of  Manceter,  in^the 
county  of  Warwick,  1791,  I  am  indebted  for  the  follow- 
ing extracts  relating  to  Bacon's  maternal  kinsmen,  the 
Cookes  of  Hartshill,  Warwickshire: 

Referrin"-  to  Manceter  he  savs: 

"It  is  situate  in  the  hundred  of  Hemlingford,  in  the 

North  part  of  the  county  of  Warwick,  a  part  of  the  an- 

54 


•cient  and  extensive  forest  of  Arden,  of  which  her  native 
poet  and  industrious  Antiquary  sings, 

''Muse,  first  of  Arden  tell,  whose  footsteps  yet  are 

found 
"In  her  rough  woodlands  more  than  any  other  ground 
"That  mighty  Arden  held  even  in  her  height  of  pride; 

The  Arden  here  celebrated  by  our  poet  was,  as  he 
says,  the  largest  of  all  the  forest  in  Britain,  extending 
from  the  banks  of  the  Avon,  which  washes  the  whole 
■South  side  of  this  huge  wild,  to  the  Trent  on  the  North, 
to  the  Severn  on  the  West,  and  East  to  an  imaginary  line 
drawn  from  High  Cross  to  Burton. 

HARTSHILL. 

HARTSHILL,  the  third  village  in  the  parish,  the  Cam- 
pus Mar'tms  of  the  Romans,  and  by  them  included  in 
the  general  name  of  Manduessedum,  was  first  settled  and 
inhabited  by  the  Saxons,  who  called  it  Ardenshill.  By  the 
•Conqueror  it  was  let  to  farm  Ansley  to  Nicholas,  a  man 
of  note  in  those  days,  at  100  shillings,  as  in  Domesday, 
where  it  is  called  Ardreshill,  and  with  Ansley  contained 
two  hides  and  several  caracutes.  There  were  thirteen 
villans  with  five  caracutes  more,  also  six  acres  of  meadow ; 
all  which  had  been  valued  at  four  pounds,  but  now  at 
100  shillings.  Not  long  after  the  census  was  finished, 
the  Conqueror  gave  this  lordship  with  the  rest  of  the 
parish,  and  the  adjoining  one  of  Ansley,  to  Hugh  Lupus 
earl  of  Chester,  whose  nephew  and  heir  Ramdpli  de 
Meschines  gave  Hartshill  and  Ansley  to  his  kinsman 
Hugh.  By  him  and  his  descendants  it  was  called  Aldre- 
dushull,  HardreshuU,  Harderlndl,  Hardeslmll,  Harte- 
■shidl,  and  in  later  days  HareshuU  and  Hartshill. 

The  village  is  built  on  the  North  end  of  the  hilly  plain, 

55 


forming  a  rustic  square,  near  the  centre  of  which  stands 
an  old  building  (now  a  cottage)  called  the  chapel,  which 
name  I  find  it  bore  in  the  reign  of  James  I.,**  but  when  it 
was  used  for  any  religious  purpose  does  not  appear. 

On  the  West  side  of  the  village  is  a  large  wood  stretch- 
ing, up  near  the  camp  at  Oldbury,  the  remains  of  the 
woods  of  the  Arden,  in  antient  days  called  from  its  pos- 
sessors Sylva  Hugonis,  Sylva  WilUemi,  and  now  The 
Hays,  in  the  side  of  which,  adjoining  the  castle,  is  a 
large  tumulus.  From  the  village  the  grounds  fall  gently 
to  the  river,  Ankor,  which  runs  pleasantly  through  this 
manor,  directing  its  course  from  South  East  to  North 
West. 

Drayton,  in  complaisance  to  the  place  of  his  nativity^ 
with  poetic  exaggeration  sings, 

"Our  floods,  queen  Thames  for  ships -and  swans  renown 'd, 
"And  stately  Severn  for  her  shores  is  praised, 

"The  christal  Trent  for  fords  and  fish  renown 'd, 
"And  Avon's  fame  to  Albion's  cliffs  is  raised,  .  .  . 

"Arden's  sweet  Ankor,  let  thy  glory  be, 
"That  fair  idea  onely  lives  by  thee." 

Bartlett  has  the  following  note  on  William  de  Har- 
dreskull,  and  to  the  Abbot  Bacoun : 

This  William,  during  the  life-time  of  his  father,  was  a 
suhscrihing  ivitness  to  a  charter  of  Raniilf  de  Gernonis, 
done  at  Nottingham,  confirming  his  nephew  Bacoun' s 
foundation  charter  of  the  abbey  of  Roucester  in  Staf- 
fordshire.   Monast.  II.  p.  268. 

William  died  46  Henry  III.  1264,*   leaving  his  ivife 

**Noto — In  1608,  in  Cook's  deed  of  sale  it  is  termed  a  cottage,  called 
the  chapel.  May  6,  1621.  Jane  Wright,  widow  of  Christopher  W'right,  of 
Happersford.  and  daughter  of  Francis  Purefoy.  of  Caldecot.  leases  to 
Ralph  Parker  for  eight  years,  the  house  called  the  chapel,  standing  in 
the  middle  of  the  village. 

*NoTE.— Rot.  Pat.  46  Hen.  III. 

56 


Matilda,  afterwards  married  to  William  de  Ardern,  ttvo 
sons,  who  afterwards  by  turns  enjoyed  the  estate.  About 
this  time  he  had  granted  certain  lands  in  Anesley  to 
William  de  Bret,  ivho  built  himself  a  mansion-house, 
tvhich  afterivards  obtained  the  name  of  Bret's  hall,  as  the 
land  that  of  a  manor.  A  succeeding  William  obtained 
34  Edward  III.  the  bishop's  license  to  have  divine  service 
celebrated  in  his  private  oratory  for  the  space  of  two 
years. 

Thomas  Colepeper,  who  married  Elizabeth,  one  of  the 
daiigliters  and  coheirs  of  Sir  William  Haut  of  Hauts- 
born.  He  was  the  last  of  that  family  that  had  any- 
thing to  do  at  Hartshill,  for  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign 
of  Edward  VI.  he  sold  that  manor  and  estate,  after  it  had 
been  in  one  family,  male  and  female  included,  fonr  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years,  to  Sir  Anthony  Cook. 

Sir  Anthony  Cook,  of  Giddyhall  in  Essex,  was  the  son 
of  Sir  John  Philip  Cook,  by  Elizabeth,  one  of  the 
daughters  and  coheirs  of  Sir  Henry  Belknap  of  Kidlings- 
would  in  Kent,*  and  the  great  grand-son  of  Sir  Thomas 
Cook,  the  founder  and  builder  of  Giddyhall,  who  in  April 
15,  1465,  4  Edward  IV..  being  then  lord  mayor  of  Lon- 
don, was  with  several  others  created  a  knight  of  the 
Bath,  the  better  to  grace  the  coronation  of  the  queen, 
late  the  lady  Elizabeth  Grey,  which  was  celebrated  the 
next  day.  In  the  succeeding  year  he  was  charged  with 
high  treason,  but  admitted  to  bail.  But  after  the  mar- 
riage of  Margaret,  the  king's  sister  (his  great  friend), 
to  Charles,  duke  of  Burgundy,  in  1468  he  was  arrested 
and  committed  to  the  Tower,  his  goods  seized,  and  his 
estates  sequestered ;  and  though  acquitted  of  the  charge, 
he  could  not  obtain  his  liberty  without  paying  the  exorbi- 

*NoTE. — And    ill    hei-   rislit   possessed    of   lands    in    Wapenhnry    and 
Derset,  and  by  purchase  in  Stockinford,  all  in  the  county  of  Warwick. 

57 


tant  fine  of  eight  tliousands  pounds  to  the  king,  and 
■eight  hundred  marks  to  the  queen;  besides  this,  he  suf- 
fered great  losses  from  his  enemy's  servants,  who  had 
the  keeping  of  his  estates,  which  were  not  restored  to  him 
until  Henry  VI.  resumed  the  throne  1470,  when  he  was 
appointed  keeper  of  the  queen's  wardrobe,  and  customer 
of  the  port  of  Southampton;  and  in  this  year  he  again 
served  the  office  of  mayor,  as  Jocinii  tenens  for  John 
Skelton,  a  partizan  of  the  house  of  York,  who,  to  avoid 
•danger,  feigned  himself  sick.  Sir  Thomas  died  18  Ed- 
ward IV.  1478. 

Sir  Anthony  was  born  in  1500,  and  in  1544  appointed 
one  of  the  tutors  to  Edward  VI.  In  Mary's  days  he  was 
an  exile.  In  the  succeeding  reign  of  Elizabeth  he  repaired 
and  finished  Giddyhall,  which  the  losses  his  great  grand- 
father had  suffered  had  prevented  him  from  doing;  and 
in  it  he  had  the  honor  of  entertaining  Elizabeth  in  her 
progress  into  Kent  in  1568.*  On  the  front  he  placed  the 
following  lines: 

"^dibus  his  frontem  proavus  Thomas  dedit  olim; 
''Addidit  Antoni  caetera  sera  manus." 

8  Elizabeth  he  leased  to  Michael  and  Edmond  Parker 
the  castellated  manor-house  at  Hartshill,  with  the  park 
and  other  lands,  amounting  to  three  hundred  acres  at 
forty  pounds  per  annum.  He  married  Anne  the  daughter 
of  Sir  William  Fitz  William  of  Gain's  park,  Essex,  and 
of  Milton  in  Northamptonshire ;  and  died  at  Giddy  hall,  18 
Elizabeth,  1576,  aged  76.  He  was  buried  in  Rumford 
diapel,  where  a  stately  monument  was  erected  for  him, 
with  this  inscription: 

''Dominus  Antonius  Cocus,  ordinis  equestris  miles,  ob 
singularem  doctrinam,  prudentiam,  et  pietatem  Edovardi 
institutor  constitutus. 

*X0TE. — .See  "Queen  Elizabeth's  Progresses"  niuler  that  year. 

58 


"TTxorem  liabuit  filiam  Gulielmi  Fitz  Williams  de  Mil- 
ton militis,  vere  piam  et  generosam,  cum  qua  diu  feliciter 
&c." 

He  left  issue  a  son  Ricliard,  who  succeeded  liim  in  his 
estates,  and  four  daughters : 

Mildred,   married   to   William   Cecill   Lord   Burleigh; 

Anne,  to  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon,  lord  keeper  of  the  great 
seal; 

Elizabeth,  to  Sir  John  Russel,  son  and  heir  of  Fran- 
cis earl  of  Bedford; 

And  Katharine,  to  Sir  Henry  Killigrew. 

Of  these  ladies  it  is  said,  that  they  were  learned  above 
their  sex  in  Greek  and  Latin,  and  equally  distinguished 
by  their  virtue,  piety,  and  good  fortune. 

Richard,  his  son  who  succeeded  to  the  estate,  married 
Anne,  daughter  of  John  Caulton,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  had  a 
son,  Anthony,  born  in  1550,  who  afterwards  enjoyed  the 
estate.  He  married  Avice,  the  daughter  of  Sir  William 
Waldgrave,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Sir  William, 
who  married  Joyce,  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  Sir 
Thomas  Lucy  of  Higlmam,  in  Gloucestershire,  where  he 
and  his  posterity  afterwards  resided.  Sir  William  Cook 
died  1618,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Sir  Robert. 

Whilst  Sir  Anthony  Cook  possessed  this  estate.  Harts- 
hill  gave  birth  to  her  celebrated  poet  and  industrious 
antiquary,  MICHAEL  DRAYTON,  descended  from  the 
ancient  family  of  the  Draytons  of  Drayton  in  Leicester- 
shire. 

He  was  born  15  Elizabeth,  1563,  in  this  village,  and 
not  at  Atherston,  as  Sir  William  Dugdale  says,  perhaps 
led  thereto  from  many  of  his  relations  living  there  at  that 
time,  and  now  not  all  extinct.  But  the  hamlet  of  Hartshill 
derives  celebrity  from  a  just  claim  to  his  birth,  as  appears 
indisputably  true  from  the  Latin  lines  under  his  portrait, 

50 


«t.  50,  by  W.  Hole,  prefixed  to  the  edition  of  his  works 
published  in  his  lifetime,  and  under  his  own  inspection, 
]627,  which  could  not  have  escaped  his  correction  had 
it  been  erroneous: 

"Lux  Hareshula  tibi  Warwici  villa  (tenebris 

"Ante  tuas  cunas  obsita)  prima  fuit. 
"Anna,  viros,  veneres,  patriam,  modulamine  dixti; 

"Te  patriae  resonant,  arma,  viri,  veneres." 

Had  Sir  William  paid  a  proper  attention  to  these  lines, 
he  would  not  have  made  that  mistake,  which  from  his 
great  character  succeeding  writers  have  adopted.    .    .    . 

....  In  1573,  being  but  ten  years  old,  he  appears 
by  his  own  words  to  have  been  page  to  some  person  of 
honour,  able  to  construe  his  Cato  and  other  sentences, 
and  solicitous  with  his  tutor  to  make  liim  a  poet. 

.  .  .  .  He  spent  many  of  his  younger  years  at 
Polesworth  in  the  family  of  Sir  Henry  Goodyere,  to 
whom  he  addresses  his  odes : 

"These  Lyric  pieces  short  and  few, 
"Most  worthy  Sir,  I  send  to  you, 

"To  read  them  be  not  weary, 
"They  may  become  John  Hews  his   lyre, 
"Which  oft  at  Powlsworth  by  the  fire 

"Has  made  us  gravely  merry." 

Bacon's  Chaplain,  Eawley,  in  1657,  printed  the  follow- 
ing letter  in  the  Resuscitatio,  p.  92,  which  Bacon  had 
written  about  1594  to  Sir  Thomas  Lucy,  the  son  of 
Shakespeare's  Justice  Shallow: 

To  Sir  Thomas  Lucy. 
Sir,  There  was  no  Newes,  better  welcom  to  me,  this 
long  time,  than  that,  of  the  good  Success,  of  my  Kins- 
man ;  wherein,  if  he  be  happy,  he  cannot  be  happy  alone, 

60 


it  consisting  of  two  parts.  And  I  render  you,  no  less 
kinde  Thanks,  for  your  aid,  and  Favour,  towards  him, 
than  if  it  had  been  for  my  Self;  Assuring  you,  that  this 
Bond  of  Alliance,  shall,  on  my  part,  tye  me,  to  give  all 
the  Tribute,  to  your  good  Fortune,  upon  all  occasions, 
that  my  poor  Strength  can  yield.  I  send  you,  so  required, 
an  Abstract,  of  the  Lands  of  Inheritance;  And  one  Lease 
of  great  value,  which  my  Kinsman  bringeth;  with  a  Note, 
of  the  Tenures,  Values,  Contents,  and  State,  truly,  and 
perfectly,  drawen ;  whereby  you  may  perceive,  the  Land 
is  good  Land,  and  well  countenanced,  by  scope  of  Acres, 
Woods,  and  Royalties;  Though  the  Total  of  the  Rents, 
be  set  down,  as  it  now  goeth,  without  Improvement:  In 
which  respect,  it  may  somewhat  differ,  from  your  first 
Note.  Out  of  this,  what  he  will  assure  in  Joincture,  I 
leave  it,  to  his  own  kindness ;  For  I  love  not  to  measure 
Affection.  To  conclude,  I  doubt  not,  your  Daughter, 
mought  have  married,  to  a  better  Living,  but  never  to  a 
better  Life;  Having  chosen  a  Gentleman,  bred  to  all  Hon- 
esty, Vertue,  and  Worth,  with  an  Estate  convenient. 
And  if  my  Brother,  or  my  Self,  were  either  Thrivers,  or 
Fortunate,  in  the  Queens  Service,  I  would  hope,  there 
should  be  left,  as  great  an  House,  of  the  Coohes,  in  this 
Gentleman,  as  in  your  good  Friend,  Mr.  Atturney  Gen- 
eral. But  sure  I  am,  if  Scriptures  fail  not,  it  will  have  as 
much  of  Gods  Blessing;  and  Sufficiency,  is  ever  the  best 
Feast,  &c. 

Spedding  in  Letters  and  Life  of  Bacon,  Vol.  II,  p.  369, 
refers  to  this  letter  as  follows:  ''The  next  is  addressed 
to  Sir  Thomas  Lucy — eldest  sou,  I  suppose,  of  Jus- 
tice Shallow.  For  I  find  in  Burke's  'Commoners  of 
Great  Britain'  that  Sir  Thomas  Lucy,  knight,  of  Charl- 
cote,  who  succeeded  his  father  in  1600,  had  by  his 
first  wife  a  daughter  (Joyce),  who  married  Sir  William 


61 


Cook,  knight,  of  Higlinam.  Sir  William  Cook  may  have 
been  one  of  Bacon's  kinsmen  by  the  mother's  side,  and 
his  approaching  marriage  with  Joyce  Lucy  may  have 
been  the  occasion  of  this  letter:  which  comes  from  the 
supplementary  collection  in  the  'Resuscitatio."  It  is 
sufficiently  intelligible  as  it  stands ;  nor  have  I  any  reason 
to  suppose  that  a  more  complete  account  of  the  relations 
between  the  parties,  of  their  previous  history  and  subse- 
quent journey  through  this  transitory  life,  would  add 
anything  material  to  the  little  interest  wiiich  it  still 
retains  for  us,  as  an  agreeable  and  very  characteristic 
letter." 

I  esteem  Spedding's  opinion  highly,  but  I  cannot  agree 
with  him  that  this  letter  retains  but  little  interest  for  us. 
To  students  of  Elizabethan  literature  it  conjures  up  men 
as  familiar  as  household  woi'ds.  Francis  Bacon,  whose 
name  we  revere;  Sir  Edward  Coke,  Elizabeth's  Attorney 
General ;  the  scholarly  Anthony  Bacon,  whose  work  was 
never  appreciated  by  the  Queen  or  his  kinsmen,  the 
Cecils;  Sir  William  Cooke,  Bacon's  cousin,  and  a  de- 
scendant of  that  Sir  Thomas  Cooke  who  lost  his  estates 
and  almost  his  head  for  his  loyalty  to  Henry  VI.;  and 
last  but  not  least,  Sir  Thomas  Lucy,  the  son  and  heir  of 
that  famous  Sir  Thomas  Lucy,  whom  critics  call 
''Shakespeare's  Justice  Shallow,"  for  it  was  he  who 
drove  the  poet  from  Stratford  for  breaking  into  his  paik 
and  stealing  his  deer;  or,  as  our  authority,  Nicholas 
Rowe,  Shakespeare's  first  biographer,  puts  it:  -''He 
had,  by  a  misfortune  common  enough  to  young  fellows, 
fallen  into  ill  company,  and  amongst  them  some  that 
made  a  frequent  practice  of  deer-stealing,  engaged  him 
more  than  once  in  robbing  a  park  that  belonged  to  Sir 
Thomas  Lucy,  of  Charlecote,  near  Stratford.  For  this 
he  was  prosecuted  by  that  gentleman,  as  he  thought, 

62 


somewhat  too  severely;  and,  in  order  to  revenge  that  ill 
usage,  he  made  a  ballad  upon  him.  This,  probably  the 
first  essay  of  his  poetry,  is  said  to  have  been  so  very 
bitter  that  it  redoubled  the  prosecution  against  him  to 
that  degree  that  he  was  obliged  to  leave  his  business 
and  family  in  Warwickshire  for  some  time  and  shelter 
himself  in  London." 

Justice  Shallow  was  alive  w^hen  the  letter  was  written 
in  1594.  I  judge  it  was  written  in  that  year  because 
Coke  was  made  Attorney  GeuiT-al  in  April,  1594,  and 
Anthony  Bacon  died  in  1601,  broken  in  heart  and  in 
health  for  his  friend,  the  Earl  of  Essex. 

Sir  Thomas  Lucy,  to  whom  Bacon  writes,  was  about 
thirty-five  or  thirty-six  years  old  when  Shakespeare  fled 
to  London.  Sir  William  Cooke  lived  on  a  neighboring 
estate  and  married  his  daughter,  Joyce  Lucy.  Sir  Fulke 
Greville,  the  poet,  another  of  Bacon's  warm  friends, 
lived  near  them ;  and  I  am  convinced  all  these  gentlemen 
knew  of  Shakespeare's  plight  and  that  through  their 
correspondence  it  reached  Bacon.  In  those  days  private 
letters  were  filled  with  all  the  gossip  of  the  town  and 
country.    Now  we  know  Francis  Bacon  ever  had 

''A  tear  for  pity  and  a  hand  open  as  day  for  melting 
charity." 

Would  it  be  too  wild  a  conjecture  to  say  I  believe 
Shakespeare  had  met  Bacon  in  Warwickshire  and  that 
on  his  arrival  in  London  he  sought  him  out  at  his  lodg- 
ings in  Grays  Inn,  and  through  Bacon's  influence  he  was 
placed  where  he  became  a  servant  to  the  Lord  Chamber- 
lain, Henry  Carey,  first  Lord  Hundson,  and  Queen  Eliza- 
beth's cousin.  In  no  other  way,  it  seems  to  me,  could 
Shakespeare  have  attained  the  phenomenal  progress  he 
is  said  to  have  made  in  five  or  six  years  after  his  arrival 

63 


in  London.  Some  of  his  biographers  say  he  reached  the 
metroi^olis  in  1585;  others  make  it  as  late  as  1587.  Yet 
Eobert  Greene,  one  of  the  choicest  poets  of  that  time  and 
a  thorough  scholar,  grew  so  envious  of  our  poet's  plays 
before  1592  that  he  called  him  "an  upstart  Crow."  Some 
critics  conjecture  that  Shakespeare  applied  to  James 
Burbage,  or  to  Richard  Field,  the  printer,  because  they 
also  claim  these  two  were  from  his  native  Stratford. 
But  James  Burbage  was  from  Hertsfordshire,  not  "War- 
wickshire, and  as  for  Richard  Field,  the  printer  of  Venus 
and  Adonis  and  Lucrece,  until  I  have  some  better  author- 
ity than  John  Payne  Collier,  who  was  the  first  to  bring 
out  this  "fact"  in  1849,  I  cannot  accept  it. 

But  let  us  return  to  Rowe.  "It  is  at  this  time,  and  upon 
this  accident,  that  he  is  said  to  have  made  his  first 
acquaintance  in  the  playhouse.  He  was  received  into  the 
company  then  in  being,  at  first  in  a  very  mean  rank,  but 
his  admirable  wit,  and  the  natural  turn  of  it  to  the  stage, 
soon  distinguished  him,  if  not  as  an  extraordinary  actor, 
yet  as  an  excellent  writer.  His  name  is  printed,  as  the 
custom  was  in  those  times,  amongst  those  of  the  other 
players,  before  some  old  plays,  but  without  any  particu- 
lar account  of  what  sort  of  parts  he  used  to  play;  and 
though  I  have  enquired,  I  could  never  meet  with  any 
further  account  of  him  this  way,  than  that  the  top  of  his 
performance  was  the  Ghost  in  his  own  Hamlet.  I  should 
have  been  much  more  pleased  to  have  learned,  from  cer- 
tain authority,  which  was  the  first  play  he  wrote;  it 
would  be  without  doubt  a  pleasure  to  any  man,  curious 
in  things  of  this  kind,  to  see  and  know  what  was  the 
first  essay  of  a  fancy  like  Shakespeare's." 

Alas,  poor  Ghost!  Alas,  too,  that  no  "certain  author- 
ity" could  tell  Rowe  what  the  "first  essay"  of  Shake- 
speare's "fancy"  was.     Like  our  critics  of  the  present 

64 


horrible  war,  lie  lived  too  near  tlie  time  to  hear  or  learn 
all  the  truth.  It  would  seem  that  our  poet  did  not  care 
to  recognize  any  of  the  dramas  that  so  magically  dropiDed 
from  his  pen,  for  in  1593  he  calls  Venus  and  Adonis 
"the  first  heir  of  his  invention,"  and  in  the  following- 
year,  1594,  he  gave  the  world  his  Lucrece.  This  year 
(1594)  was  a  most  momentous  one  in  the  lives  of  Shake- 
speare and  Bacon,  for  at  Christmas  time  the  Comedy  of 
Errors  was  performed  at  Grays  Inn.  Thus  distingniish- 
ing  Shakespeare  above  all  the  dramatists  of  his  day, 
because  to  have  a  play  staged  in  the  fine  Hall  of  Grays 
Inn  was  as  great  an  honor  as  to  be  presented  at  court. 
Here  the  immortal  Bacon  reigned  supreme  over  the 
masques,  sports  and  revels,  and  might  be  called  the  Lord 
Chamberlain  of  Grays  Inn  for  licensing  dramatic  per- 
formances; for  that  was  one  of  the  duties  of  the  Lord 
Chamberlain  at  court,  for  whose  company  all  of  Shake- 
speare's plays  were  written,  and  they  continued  under 
the  control  of  that  officer  down  to  the  Chamberlain  of 
Charles  L,  who  was  Philip  Earl  of  Pembroke,  one  of 
the  "Incomparable  brothers"  to  whom  the  first  folio  was 
dedicated  in  1623.  Shakespeare's  name  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  Gesta  Grayorum,  neither  is  Bacon's,  yet  the  best 
critics  agree,  from  Malone's  time  down,  that  the  Comedy 
of  Errors,  performed  at  Grays  Inn  on  December  28, 1594, 
was  Shakespeare's.  The  poet's  name  first  appeared  on 
his  Love's  Labours  Lost  in  1598,  showing  he  was  indif- 
ferent to  his  plays  or  that  the  Lord  Chamberlain's  com- 
pany controlled  them  entirely  after  they  left  his  hands. 
His  poems  were  more  precious  to  him,  as  we  see  from  the 
Dedications.  It  has  been  also  proven  on  the  highest 
authority  that  Bacon  largely  composed  the  contents  of 
the  (icxtd  (Irai/orinii.  The  28th  of  December,  1594,  must 
have  been  one  of  the  brightest  days  in  our  poet's  life,  for 

G5 


on  that  day  ]iis  name  first  appears  with  that  of  Richard 
Bnrbage-and  AVilliam  Kempe's  in  "two  several  Come- 
dies or  interludes"  at  Greenw^ich  Palace  before  the 
Qneen.  (See  Halliwell  Phillips.)  This  was  upon  St. 
Innocent's  Day,  and  when  he  left  the  stately  and  sump- 
tuous palace  of  Elizabeth  he  had  to  make  ready  for  the 
performance  of  his  farce  at  Grays  Inn  that  very  night, 
and  it  was  the  second  grand  night  of  the  Christmas 
sports  and  revels,  as  the  Gesta  Grayorum  relates : 

"The  next  grand  night  was  intended  to  be  upon  Inno- 
cent's-day  at  night;  at  which  time  there  was  a  great  pres- 
ence of  lords,  ladies,  and  worshipful  personages,  that  did 
expect  some  notable  performance  at  that  time;  which, 
indeed,  had  been  effected,  if  the  multitude  of  beholders 
had  not  been  so  exceeding,  no  convenient  room  for  those 
that  were  actors ;  b}^  reason  whereof,  very  good  inventions 
and  conceipts  could  not  have  opportunity  to  be  applauded, 
which  otherwise  would  have  been  great  contentations  to  the 
beholders.  Against  which  time,  our  friend,  the  Inner 
Temple,  determined  to  send  their  Ambassador  to  our  Prince 
of  State,  as  sent  from  Frederick  Templarius,  their  Emperor, 
who  was  then  busied  in  his  wars  against  the  Turk.  The 
Ambassador  came  very  gallantly  appointed,  and  attended 
by  a  great  number  of  brave  gentlemen,  which  arrived  at  our 
Court  about  nine  of  the  clock  at  night.  Upon  their  coming 
thither,  the  King  at  Arms  gave  notice  to  the  Prince,  then 
sitting  in  his  chair  of  state  in  the  hall,  that  there  was 
to  come  to  his  Court  an  Ambassador  from  his  ancient 
friend  the  State  of  Templaria,  which  desired  to  have 
present  access  unto  his  Highness ;  and  shewed  his  Honour 
further,  that  he  seemed  to  be  of  very  good  sort,  because 
he  was  so  well  attended;  and  therefore  desired,  that  it 
would  please  his  Honour  that  some  of  his  Nobles  and 
Lords  might  conduct  him  to  his  Highness 's  presence, 

Gfi 


which  was  done.  So  he  was  brought  in  very  solemnly, 
with  sound  of  trumpets,  the  King  at  Arms  and  Lords  of 
Purpoole  making  to  his  company,  which  marched  before 
him  in  order.  He  was  received  very  kindly  of  the  Prince, 
and  placed  in  a  chair  besides  his  Highness,  to  the  end 
that  he  might  be  a  i)artaker  of  the  sports  intended." 

Surely  this  must  have  thrilled  our  poet's  heart  with 
joy  and  gratitude.  His  presence  at  the  Queen's  court  in 
the  morning  meant  much,  but  here  in  this  renowned  Hall 
of  Grays  Inn,  before  the  most  cultured  and  critical  audi- 
ence in  all  England,  must  have  meant  much  more.  Yet 
what  they  were  to  witness  was  the  merest  trifle  and  his 
lightest  farce.  It  was  a  comedy  that  must  have  appealed 
to  Francis  and  Anthony  Bacon,  because  they  were  both 
fond  of  a  jest  and  knew  by  experience  what  it  meant  to 
be  dunned  for  debt  and  sought  by  the  sheriff.  It  is  only 
a  conjecture,  but  for  my  part  I  think  the  Bacon  brothers 
may  have  suggested  this  farce  for  the  occasion  and  that 
it  was  hurriedly  dashed  off  by  Shakespeare.  At  that 
period  Anthony  Bacon  was  living  in  Bishopsgate  Street, 
near  to  play  houses  and  players,  and  we  are  told  Shake- 
speare also  resided  there. 

To  return  to  the  Gesta  (rraijorinii  "When  tlie^ 
ambassador  was  placed,  as  aforesaid,  and  that 
there  was  something  to  be  performed  for  the  delight 
of  the  beholders,  there  arose  such  a  distorted  tumult 
and  crowd  upon  the  stage,  that  there  was  no  opportunity 
to  effect  that  which  was  intended:  there  came  so  great  a 
number  of  worshipful  personages  upon  the  stage  that 
might  not  be  displaced,  and  gentlewomen  whose  sex  did 
privilege  them  from  violence,  that  when  the  Prince  and 
his  officers  had  in  vain,  a  good  while,  expected  and  en- 
deavoured a  reformation,  at  length  there  was  no  hope  of 
redress  for  that  present.    The  Lord  Ambassador  and  his. 

(J7 


train  tliouglit  that  tliey  were  not  so  kindly  entertained 
as  was  before  expected,  and  thereupon  would  not  staj^ 
any  longer  at  that  time,  but,  in  a  sort,  discontented  and 
displeased.  After  their  departure,  the  throngs  and  tu- 
mults did  somewhat  cease,  although  so  much  of  them  con- 
tinued as  was  able  to  disorder  and  confound  any  good 
inventions  whatsoever.  In  regard  whereof,  as  also  for 
that  the  sports  intended  were  especially  for  the  gracing 
the  Templarians,  it  was  thought  good  not  to  offer  any 
thing  of  account,  saving  dancing  and  revelling  with  gen- 
tlewomen; and  after  such  sports,  a  Comedy  of  Errors 
(like  to  Plautus  his  Menechmus)  was  played  by  the  play- 
ers. So  that  night  war  begun  and  continued  to  the  end 
in  nothing  but  confusion  and  errors;  whereupon,  it  was 
ever  afterwards  called,  ''The  Night  of  Errors." 

The  "players"  were  the  servants  of  the  Lord  Cham- 
berlain, Henry  Carey,  the  first  lord  Hunsdon,  whose 
daughter  Margaret  became  the  wife  of  Bacon's  cousin. 
Sir  Edward  Hoby.  His  father,  Sir  Thomas  Hoby,  trans- 
lated many  works,  among  them  "The  Coiirtyer  of  Count 
BaJdessar  Ca.sfilh)/'  (See  p.  40,  Gesta  Graj/orum.)  In 
1558  Bacon's  aunt,  Elizabeth  Cooke,  became  this  gentle- 
man's wife.  I  only  mention  the  Lord  Chamberlain  Huns- 
don to  illustrate  Bacon's  nearness  to  the  Elizabethan 
stage  when  Shakespeare  arrived  in  London  and  to  give 
reason  for  my  conjecture  that  Bacon,  more  than  any 
other  man  in  London,  could  have  aided  the  poet  in  the 
work  he  desired.    To  return  to  the  Comedy  of  Errors : 

"This  mischanceful  accident  sortin.ii'  so  ill,  to  the  great 
prejudice  of  the  rest  of  our  proceedings,  was  a  great  dis- 
couragement and  disparagement  to  our  whole  state;  yet 
it  gave  occasion  to  the  lawyers  of  the  Prince's  Council, 
the  next  night,  after  revels,  to  read  a  commission  of  Oyer 
and  Terminer,  directed  to  certain  Noblemen  and  Lords 

68 


of  his  Highness 's  Council,  and  others,  that  they  should 
enquire,  or  cause  enquiry  to  be  made,  of  some  great  dis- 
orders and  abuses  lately  done  and  committed  within  his 
Highness 's  dominions  of  Purpoole,  especially  by  sorceries 
and  inchantments ;  and  namely,  of  a  great  witchcraft  used 
the  night  before,  whereby  there  were  great  disorders  and 
misdemeanours,  by  hurly-burlies,  crowds,  errors,  con- 
fusions, vain  representations,  and  shows,  to  the  utter  dis- 
credit of  our  state  and  policy." 

Now  those  who  read  between  the  lines  know  that  this 
"mischanceful  accident"  was  all  cut  and  dried  before 
hand  to  give  the  gentlemen  actors  a  chance  for  their 
"law^-sports."  So  the  Gesta  Grayorum  continues: 
^'The  next  night  upon  this  occasion,  we  preferred  .judg- 
ments thick  and  three-fold  which  were  read  ])ublic]y  by 
the  Clerk  of  the  Crown,  being  all  against  a  sorcerer  or 
conjurer  that  was  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  that  con- 
fused inconvenience.  Therein  was  contained.  How  he 
had  caused  the  stage  to  be  built,  and  scaffolds  to  be  reared 
to  the  top  of  the  house,  to  increase  expectation.  Also 
how  he  had  caused  divers  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  others 
of  good  condition  to  be  invited  to  our  sports;  also  our 
dearest  friend  the  State  of  Templaria,  to  be  disgraced, 
and  disappointed  of  their  entertainment,  deserved  and 
intended.  Also  that  he  caused  throngs  and  tumudts, 
crowds  and  outrages,  to  disturb  our  whole  proceedings. 
And  lastly,  that  he  had  foisted  a  company  of  base  and 
common  fellows,  to  make  up  our  disorders  with  a  play 
of  Errors  and  Confusions ;  and  that  that  night  had  gained 
to  us  discredit,  and  itself  a  nickname  of  Errors.  All  which 
were  against  the  crown  and  dignity  of  our  Sovereign 
Lord  the  Prince  of  Purpoole.'' 

Who  was  this  ''sorcerer  or  conjurer"  that  caused  the 

09 


stage  to  be  built  and  scaffolds  to  be  reared  to  the  top  of 
the  house,"  and  lastly  had  foisted  a  company  of  base 
and  common  fellows  to  make  up  our  disorders!  Tie 
is  not  named  in  the  Gesta  Grayorum,  which  says: 

"Under  colour  of  these  proceedings,  were  laid  open  to 
the  view  all  the  causes  of  note  that  were  committed  by 
our  chiefest  statesmen  in  the  government  of  our  princi- 
pality ;  and  every  officer  in  any  great  place,  that  had  not 
performed  his  duty  in  that  service,  was  taxed  hereby,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest,  not  sparing  the  guard  and 
porters,  that  suffered  so  many  disordered  persons  to 
enter  in  at  the  court  gates :  upon  whose  aforesaid  indict- 
ments the  prisoner  was  arraigned  at  the  bar,  being 
brought  thither  by  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower  (for  at 
that  time  the  stocks  were  graced  with  that  name) ;  and 
the  Sheriff  impannelled  a  jury  of  twenty-four  gentlemen, 
that  were  to  give  their  verdict  upon  the  evidence  given. 
The  prisoner  appealed  to  the  Prince  his  Excellency  for 
justice;  and  humbly  desired  that  it  would  please  his 
Highness  to  understand  the  truth  of  the  matter  by  his 
supplication,  which  he  had  ready  to  be  offered  to  the 
Master  of  the  Eequests.  The  Prince  gave  leave  to  the 
Master  of  the  Eequests,  that  he  should  read  the  petition ; 
wherein  was  a  disclosure  of  all  the  knavery  and  juggling 
of  the  Attorney  and  Solicitor,  which  had  brought  all  his 
law-stuff  on  purpose  to  blind  the  eyes  of  his  Excellency 
and  all  the  honourable  Court  there,  going  about  to  make 
them  think  that  those  things  which  they  all  saw  and 
perceived  sensibly  to  be  in  very  deed  done,  and  actually 
performed,  were  nothing  else  but  vain  illusions,  fancies, 
dreams  and  enchantments,  and  to  be  wrought  and  com- 
passed by  the  means  of  a  poor  harmless  wretch,  that  never 
had  heard  of  such  great  matters  in  all  his  life ;  whereas 
the  very  fault  was  in  the  negligence  of  the  Prince 's  Coun- 

70 


ail,  Lords,  and  Officers  of  his  State,  that  had  the  rule  of 
the  roast,  and  by  whose  advice  the  Commonwealth  was 
so  soundly  misgoverned.  To  prove  these  things  to  be 
true  he  brought  divers  instances  of  great  absurdities 
committed  by  the  greatest:  and  made  such  allegitions 
iis  could  not  be  denied.  These  were  done  by  some  that 
were  touched  by  the  Attorney  and  Solicitor  in  their 
former  proceedings,  and  they  used  the  prisoner's  names 
for  means  of  quittance  with  them  in  that  behalf.  But 
the  Prince  and  States-men  (being  pinched  on  both  sides 
by  both  parties)  were  not  a  little  offended  at  the  great 
liberty  that  they  had  taken  in  censuring  so  far  of  his 
Highness 's  government;  and  thereupon  the  prisoner  was 
freed  and  pardoned,  the  Attorney,  Solicitor,  Master  of 
the  Requests,  and  those  that  were  acquainted  with  the 
draught  of  the  petition,  were  all  of  them  commanded  to 
the  Tower;  so  tlie  Lieutenant  took  charge  of  them.  And 
this  was  the  end  of  our  law-sports,  concerning  the  Night 
of  Errors." 

The  Gesta  Grayorum  does  not  tell  us  the  name  of  the 
''poor,  harmless  wretch,  that  never  heard  of  such  great 
matters  in  all  his  life"  by  whose  means  all  these  "en- 
chantments" were  wrought.    I  cannot  help  thinking: 

''Those  oft  are  stratagems  ivhich  Errors  seem, 
Nor  is  it  Homer  nods,  hut  ive  that  dream." 

Drayton,  in  his  epistle  to  his  "dearly  loved  friend, 
Henry  Reynolds,  Escj.,  of  Poets  and  Poesy/'  in  1627, 
writes  thus  of  himself  and  Sir  Henry  Goodere: 

For  from  my  cradle  {you  must  know  that)  I 
Was  stilt  inclin'd  to  noble  poesy. 
And  whev  that  once  pueriles  I  had  read, 
And  newly  had  my  Cato  construed, 


In  my  small  self  I  greatly  marvell'd  then, 
Amongst  all  other,  what  strange  kind  of  men 
These  poets  were,  and  pleased  ivith  the  name, 
To  my  mild  tutor  merrily  I  came, 
{For  I  was  then  a  proper  goodly  page. 
Much  like  a  pigmy  scarce  ten  years  of  age) 
Clasping  my  slender  arms  ah  out  his  thigh. 

''0  my  dear  master!  cannot  yon"  (quoth  I) 

^^Make  me  a  poet?    Do  it,  if  you  can. 
And  you  shall  see,  I'll  quickly  he  a  man." 
Who  me  thus  answer' d  smiling,  "Boy,"  quoth  he, 

''''If  you'll  not  play  the  ivag,  but  I  may  see 
You  ply  your  learning,  I  ivill  shortly  read 
Some  poets  to  you." 

What  would  we  not  have  given  to  have  had  even  a  line 
or  two  from  ''the  star  of  poets"  to  tell  us  how  he  began 
to  woo  the  Muse!  It  is  known  that  Dr.  John  Hall 
Shakespeare's  son-in-law  left  some  manuscripts  which 
a  certain  James  Cooke,  a  physician  and  surgeon  of  Lon- 
don, purchased  from  Dr.  Hall's  widow.  These  ^'Select 
Observations  on  English  Bodies"  were  "Englished  by 
James  Cooke  and  published  in  London  in  1657.  The  book 
"gives  cases  of  persons  connected  with  the  poet's  family, 
and  also  of  Drayton,  the  Poet"  (see  Lowndes),  but  does 
not  mention  the  poet  himself.  Dr.  Hall  never  dreamed 
how  interested  posterity  would  be  in  Shakespeare  else 
he  would  have  described  the  poet's  last  illness  and  death 
minutely.  At  any  rate,  it  seems  Drayton  was  a  patient 
of  Dr.  Hall's,  and  although  he  never  mentions  the  name 
of  Shakespeare  but  once  I  am  convinced  he  knew  him 
well  if  not  intimately.  In  a  MSS.  of  the  Rev.  John 
Ward,  1661-1663,  there  are  some  extracts  relating  to  the 
poet  from  which  I  select  three:     "I  have  heard  yt  Mr. 

72 


Shakespeare  was  a  natural  wit,  witlioiit  any  art  at  all; 
hee  frequented  ye  jilays  all  his  younger  time,  but  in  his 
elder  days  lived  at  Stratford." 

''Shakespear,  Drayton,  and  Ben  Jonson  had  a  merry 
meeting,  and  itt  seems  drank  too  hard,  for  Shakespear 
died  of  a  feavour  there  contracted." 

*'A  letter  to  my  brother,  to  see  Mrs.  Queeny,  to  send 
to  Tom  Smith  for  the  acknowledgment." 

This  ''3Irs,  (Queeny''  was  Judith  Quine^',  Shakespeare's 
daughter,  who  died  in  1652.  Shakespeare's  Centurie  of 
Praise.    Eevised  by  Lucy  Toulmin  Smith. 

Now  here  we  have  Drayton  again  connected  with  the 
poet  a  little  before  the  latter 's  death  in  April,  1616. 
Eleven  years  after  Drayton  pens  these  lines  of  faint 
praise,  it  seems  to  me,  in  his  ''0/  Poets  and  Poesy": 

^^Shakespeare,  thou  hadst  as  smoothe  a  Comiche  vaine, 
Fitting  the  socke,  and  in  thy  natural  hraine, 
As  strong  conception,  and  as  Cleere  a  rage, 
As  any  one  that  trafiqu'd  with  the  Stage.' 


}  > 


Which  was  faint  praise  indeed  from  one  who  knew 
Shakespeare  so  well.  The  w^ord  ^^traficpi'd"  is  unpleas- 
ing  to  a  Shakespearian  ear;  the  poet  himself  never  used 
it  in  a  good  sense.  See  Winter  Tcde,  iv.  3,  and  Timon  of 
Athens,  i,  1,  etc. 

The  Eev.  John  Ward's  criticism  of  Shakespeare's 
'* natural  wit  without  any  art  at  all"  and  Drayton's  "as 
smoothe  a  Comicke  vaine"  seem  rather  to  coincide.  In 
regard  to  the  "merry  meeting"  of  the  three  poets  I'm 
pretty  sure  Drayton  never  indulged  in  too  much  drink. 
The  following  lines  to  Henry  Eeynolds  proves  his  tastes 
were  moderate  in  this  kind: 

73 


''My  dearly  loved  friend,  how  oft  have  we, 
In  ivinter  evenings  {meaning  to  he  free) 
To  some  well  chosen  place  used  to  retire. 
And  there  tvith  moderate  meat  and  wine,  and  fire, 

Ha/DG  passed  the  hours  contentedly  tc/ith  chaf 

of  Poets  and  Poesy. 

That  Ben  Jonson  drank  too  much  is  well  knoWn. 
Drummond  tells  us  it  "was  the  element  in  which  he 
lived."  As  for  Shakespeare,  we  have  nothing  to  go  by 
but  tradition,  and  that  is  not  history.  I  am  inclined  to 
think  Drayton  was  not  very  fond  of  Jonson,  that  there 
was  no  affinity  between  them,  although  they  had  been 
connected  in  their  dramatic  compositions  in  1597-8 
and  again  in  1605.  I  do  not  think  Drayton  cared  much 
for  the  drama.  His  genius  did  not  flow  that  way;  the 
world  of  the  Theatre  was  too  loud  for  his  sensitive  spirit. 
He  tells  us  in  his  -Idea:'  (1593-4)  : 

XL  VII 

In  pride  of  wit  when  high  desire  of  fame 
Gave  life  and  courage  to  my  labouring  pen. 
And  first  the  sound  and  virtue  of  my  name 
Won  grace  and  credit  in  the  ears  of  men ; 
With  those  the  thronged  theatres  that  press 
I  in  the  circuit  for  the  laurel  strove. 
Where  the  full  praise,  I  freely  must  confess. 
In  heat  of  blood  a  modest  mind  might  move ; . 
With  shouts  and  claps  at  every  little  pause 
When  the  proud  round  on  every  side  hath  rung. 
Sadly  I  sit,  unmoved  with  the  applause. 
As  though  to  me  it  nothing  did  belong. 

No  public  glory  vainly  I  pursue; 

All  that  I  seek  is  to  eternize  you. 

74 


Was  "tlie  iH-oud  round"  the  Globe f  I  think  so.  And 
as  he  was  ''nobly  bred  and  well  allyd"  Ben  Jonson  may 
have  sometimes  grated  on  him.  In  fact  Jonson  knew 
there  was  some  doubt  expressed  on  their  friendship,  for 
he  writes  to  Drayton : 


*'It  hath  been  questioned,  Michael,  if  I  be 
A  friend  at  all;  or,  if  at  all,  to  thee : 
Because,  tvho  make  the  question,  have  not  seen 
Those  ambling  visits  pass  in  verse  between 
Thy  Muse  and  mine,  as  they  expect.     'Tis  true : 
You  have  not  writ  to  me,  nor  I  to  you; 
And,  though  I  now  begin,  'tis  not  to  rub 
Haunch  against  haunch,  or  raise  a  rhyming  club 
About  the  town:     This  rech'ning  I  will  pay. 
Without  conferring  symbols.     This  'is  my  umy."     [The 
Vision  of  Ben  Jonson.) 

I  think  these  lines  were  written  years  after  Shakes- 
peare's death — about  1627.  If  taken  in  their  literal 
sense  they  prove  there  had  never  been  any  correspon- 
dence between  Drayton  and  Jonson  up  to  that  date.  If 
Sir  Henry  Goodere  taught  Drayton  what  poets  were  at 
the  age  of  ten,  his  fair  daughter  Anne's  eyes  taught  him 
also  at  an  early  age  the  Alphabet  of  Love.  In  his  Idea 
we  find: 

LXIV 

Thine  eyes  taught  me  the  alphabet  of  Love, 
To  con  my  eross-row  ere  I  learned  to  spell 
(For  I  was  apt,  a  scholar  like  to  prove), 
Gave  me  sweet  looks  when-as  I  learned  well. 
Vows  were  my  vowels,  when  I  then  begun 
At  my  first  lesson  in  thy  sacred  name ; 
My  consonants,  the  next  when  I  had  done, 

75  ■      ! 


Words  consonant  and  sounding  to  tliy  fame 
My  liquids  then  were  liquid  crystal  tears, 
My  cares  my  mutes,  so  mute  to  crave  relief ; 
My  doleful  diphthongs  were  my  life's  despairs, 
Eedoubling  sighs,  the  accents  of  my  grief. 

My  love's  school-mistress  now  hath  taught  me  so, 

That  I  can  read  a  story  of  my  woe. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  find  out  the  date  of  Anne's 
birth,  but  she  married  Sir  Henry  Rainsford  of  Stratford- 
on-Avon  in  1596.  She  must  have  been  much  younger 
than  Drayton,  because  he  writes  of  "seeing"  her  sister, 
Frances  Goodere,"  "ever  from  her  cradle."  In  Harl 
MS.  1167  Anne's  name  is  placed  before  her  sister  Fran- 
ces' in  the  pedigree  of  Sir  Henry  Goodere. 

DEDICATION  OF 

LADY  JANE  GRAY, 

TO  THE  VEKTUOUS  LADIE,  THE  LADY  FRANCES 

GOODERE, 
WIFE  TO  SIR  GOODERE,  KNIGHT. 

My  very  gracious  and  good  mistris,  the  love  and  duetie 
I  bare  vnto  your  father  whilest  he  lined,  now  after  his 
decease  is  to  you  hereditarie ;.  to  whom  by  the  blessing 
of  your  birtli  hee  left  his  vertues.  Who  bequeathed 
you  those  which  were  his,  gaue  you  whatsoeuer  good  is 
mine,  as  denoted  to  his,  hee  being  gone,  whom  I  honoured 
so  much  whilst  he  lined;  which  you  justly  challenge  by 
all  sawes  of  thankefulnesse.  My  selfe  hauing  beene  a 
witnesse  of  your  excellent  education,  and  milde  disposi- 
tion (as  I  may  say)  euer  from  your  cradle,  dedicate  this 
epistle  of  this  vertuous  and  godly  lady  to  your  selfe ;  so 
like  her  in  all  perfection,  both  of  wisdome  and  learning. 

76 


which  I  pray  you  accept,  till  time  enable  me  to  leaue  you 
some  greater  inoiuimeiit  of  my  loue.  (Jhalmers,  l-'ng- 
Jish  Poets,  To/.  IV. 


DEDICATION  OF 

MARY  THE  FRENCH  QUEENE. 

TO  THE  RIGHT  WORSHIPFUL  SIR  HENRY 

GOODERE  OF  POWLSWORTH,  KNIGHT. 

SIR,  this  poeme  of  mine,  which  I  imparted  to  you,  at 
my  being  with  you  at  your  lodging  at  London,  in  May 
last,  brought  at  length  to  perfection,  (emboldened  by 
your  wonted  fauours)  I  adventure  to  make  you  patron 
of.  Thus,  sir,  you  see  I  haue  aduentured  to  the  world, 
with  what  like  or  dislike  I  know  not :  if  it  please,  which 
I  much  doubt  of)  I  pray  you  then  be  partaker  of  that 
which  I  shall  esteeme  not  my  least  good;  if  dislike,  it 
shall  lessen  some  part  of  my  griefe,  if  it  please  you 
to  allow  but  my  love :  howsoeuer  I  pray  you  accept  it  as 
kindly  as  I  offer  it,  which  though  without  many  protes- 
tations, yet  (I  assure  you)  with  much  desire  of  your 
honour.  Thus  vntill  such  time  as  I  may  in  some  more 
larger  measure,  make  knowne  my  love  to  the  happie  and 
generous  familie  of  the  Gooderes  (to  which  I  confesse 
my  selfe  to  be  beholding,  for  the  most  part  of  my  educa- 
tion) I  wish  you  all  happiness. 

IVIiCHAEL  Drayton. 

My  object  in  giving  these  Dedications  is  to  show  Dray- 
ton's connection  with  Bacon's  friends  and  kinsmen.  Yet 
we  have  no  word  from  Bacon  or  Drayton  that  they  knew 
each  other.  The  next  is  to  Bacon's  kinsman,  Sir  An- 
thony Cooke: 

77 


TO  SIR  ANTHONY  COOKE. 

VOUCHSAFE  to  grace  these  rude  vnpolislit  rimes, 

Which  but  for  you  had  slept  in  sable  night, 

Anl  come  abroad  now  in  these  glorious  times, 

Can  hardly  brooke  the  purenesse  of  the  light, 

But  sith  you  see  their  destinie  is  such,  ; 

That  in  the  world  their  fortune  they  must  try. 

Perhaps  the  better  shall  abide  the  tuch. 

Wearing  your  name  their  gracious  liuery, 

Yet  these  mine  owne,  I  wrong  not  other  men, 

Nor  traffique  farther  than  this  happy  clime. 

Nor  filch  from  Portes,  nor  from  Petrarchs  pen, 

A  fault  too  common  in  this  latter  time. 

Diuine  sir  Philip,  I  auouch  thy  writ, 

I  am  no  pick-purse  of  anothers  wit. 

Chalmers^  Eiif/lish  Poets,  Vol.  IV. 


78 


BACON'S  CONNECTION  WITH  THE  BURBAGES 

In  Bacon's  letter  to  Sir  Thomas  Lucy  lie  speaks  of 
certain  lands  in  Warwickshire  belonging  to  his  cousin, 
Sir  William  Cooke,  as  follows : 

'^I  send  you,  so  required,  an  Abstract,  of  the 
Lands  of  Inheritance;  And  one  Lease  of  great 
value,  which  my  Kinsman  bring eth;  with  a  Note, 
of  the  Tenures,  Values,  Contents,  and  State,  truly, 
and  perfectly  drawen ;  whereby  you  may  perceive, 
the  Land  is  good  Land,  and  well  countenanced,  by 
scope  of  Acres,  Woods,  and  Royalties;  Though  the 
Total  of  the  Rents,  be  set  down,  as  it  now  goeth, 
without  Improvement :  In  which  respect,  it  may 
somewhat  differ,  from  your  first  Note.  Out  of  this, 
what  he  will  assure  in  Joincture,  I  leave  it,  to  his 
own  kindness;  For  I  love  not  to  measure  Affec- 
tion." 

Among  the  lands  enumerated  I  find  one  parcel  occu- 
pied by  a  Robert  Burbage,  who  may  have  been  a  retainer 
of  the  Cooke  family  as  well  as  a  tenant.  (See  Appen- 
dix B.) 

As  Richard  Burbage  was  the  original  Hamlet  and 
played  the  leading  parts  in  Shakespeare's  tragedies, 
we  cannot  pass  the  name  of  Burbage  without  comment. 
I  have  reason  to  think  James  Burbage,  the  builder  of  the 
first  theatre  in  London,  came  from  St.  Albans.  In  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine,  Vol.  8,  p.  139,  1860,  I  found  this 
interesting  document,  mentioning  a  Thomas  Burbage  and 
a  Robert  Chester. 

79 


]  Original  Documents. 

DESIGNS  OF  FRANCE  AGAINST  HOLLAND. 
BY  THE  QUENE. 

Elizabeth  E. — Trusty  and  wellbilovid  we  grete  you 
well. 

Furst  ye  shall  upon  the  recept  of  thies  our  lettres  use 
all  thexpedition  that  ye  may  possibly  in  sendyng  to  the 
partyes  named  in  a  Callender  herewith  sent  unto  youe, 
and  do  that  ye  may,  either  by  sendyng  for  them  unto  you 
or  otherwise,  to  cause  hast  to  be  made  of  the  setting  furth 
of  the  horsemen  therein  appointid,  so  as  they  may  be  at 
Newcastell  before  the  XVIIT^  day  of  January. 

Item  if  any  appointid  by  us  shall  at  the  tyme  of  our 
lettres  cummyng  unto  youe,  not  be  lyving,  or  otherwise 
yo  decayd  as  ye  shall  perceve  that  tbey  cannot  anywise 
be  able  to  furnishe  as  they  be  appointed,  then  you  shall 
consyder  how  the  sayd  nombre  so  failing  may  be  sup- 
plied by  others  in  the  same  countye  not  mentioned  in 
tbe  Callender,  being  able  thereto  and  omittid  by  us.  And 
for  that  purpos  we  haue  also  sent  to  youe  certeyn  our 
lettres  under  our  signet  not  directed,  which  we  do  auth- 
orize you  to  direct  as  ye  shall  see  cause.  Wherein  you 
may  haue  good  remembrannce  to  charge  such  as  by  the 
statute  made  in  the  xxxiii"'  yere  of  our  fathers  tyme  be 
chargid  to  fynde  great  horses  either  by  the  rate  of  their 
Ijandes  or  by  appareilling  their  wiefes  with  french- 
hooddes.  And  such  as  ye  shall  fynd  chargeable  by  lawe 
and  not  willing  therto  ye  shall  immedyately  certifye 
vs  thereof.  But  if  any  appointide  by  vs  haue  but  re- 
raoved  his  habitation  out  of  that  countye  at  the  tyme  of 
our  lettres  cummyng  unto  youe,  then  our  pleasuer  is 
that  ye  shall  cause  the  same  to  be  sent  either  to  himself 
if  he  be  but  in  the  next  Shire,  or  to  the  Shirif  of  the 
Shire. 

8() 


Item,  if  ye  shall  perceve  that  sum  namid  haue  not  suf- 
ficient horse  for  a  demylaunce,  and  yet  have  a  good 
strong  gelding  able  to  carry  a  man  with  a  corslet,  a 
borespere,  or  a  javelyn  with  a  pistolet,  ye  shall  in  that 
case  make  choise  thereof  as  ye  think  metest  for  our 
service. 

Item,  if  sum  of  the  persons  appointed  haue  not  in 
redynes  a  corslet  or  a  demilaunce  barneys  there  in  the 
countrey  to  be  hastly  sent  awaye,  then  in  that  case, 
rather  than  to  haue  our  service  delayed  ye  shall  send  the 
men  away  with  their  horses  to  Newcastel,  where  they 
shall  fynd  armure  for  them  vppon  reasonnable  prices, 
that  is  to  say,  a  demilaunce  at  liiis.  iiiid.,  a  corslet  at  xxxs., 
a  launce  staff  at  iiis.  iiiid.,  and  a  pistolet  complet  at  xvis. 
viiid.  And  in  this  behalf  ye  shall  do  well  to  gyve  order 
to  the  parties  appointed  to  dely^^er  money  for  the  same 
to  their  horsmen.  And  ye  shall  assure  the  partye,  that 
We  haue  taken  such  order  with  our  sayd  cousyn  of  Norff., 
that  there  shalbe  a  speciall  care  hade  that  euery  person 
sent  furth  shall  haue  his  horse,  his  armurs,  and  weapon 
well  preserved,  and  retourned  if  in  service  they  be  not 
lost,  against  which  chaunce  no  remedy  can  be  prouided. 

Item,  where  we  require  to  haue  the  nombre  of  xxvii*' 
horsmen  out  of  that  countye,  as  by  the  Callender  apper- 
eth,  vppon  which  nombre  we  haue  made  an  accompt  of 
service  with  our  sayd  cousyn  of  Norff.,  our  ernest  request 
is  to  youe  that  in  no  wise  the  nombre  be  made  lesse,  but 
rathr  advaunced,  vsing  our  lettres  being  not  indorsed 
for  that  purpos,  and  in  any  wise  to  have  the  third  part 
ro  be  furnished  with  demilaunces  as  nigh  as  youe  maye 
and  the  rest  to  be  meet  to  carry  corslets  and  pistolets; 
And  of  your  doings  our  pleasuer  is  ye  shall  advirtise 
both  vs. and  our  sayd  cousyn  of  Norff.,  both  that  we  may 
see  the  same  how  it  is  expeditid,  and  he  also  how  he 

81 


may  direct  his  purposes  therafter.  And  therin  vppon 
knowledge  had  from  our  sayd  cousyn  of  tharryvall  there- 
of we  shall  accept  your  doinges  in  so  good  part  as  ye 
shall  think  the  same  well  bestowed. 

Finally,  our  pleasuer  is  that  ye  shall  imjDert  asmoch 
herof  to  the  Shirif  of  the  Shire  as  ye  think  meet,  and  in 
otir  name  use  the  help  of  him  and  is  bayllyves  for  the 
spedy  delivery  of  our  Lettres,  or  for  any  other  message 
thereto  requisite.  And  thies  our  lettres  shalbe  your  suf- 
ficient warrant  in  this  behalf  yeven  vnder  our  signet  at 
our  Pallace  at  Westm.  the  xxvii^^  of  December  the  seconde 
yere  of  our  reign.  (1559.) 

To  our  trusty  and  welbeloued  Sir  Raff.  Rowlet  and 
Sir  John  Butler,  Knightes,  and  to  either  of  them. 

COM.  HERTFORD. 

Tucke,  esquier 1  launce 

Sir  John  Butler,  knight 1  1. 

Edmunde  Twynyhoo,  esquier 1  1. 

John  Horniolde,  esquier 11. 

Henry  Hyckman  and  Walter  Wythe 1  corslet 

Sir  William  Skipwithe 1  launce,  1  corslet 

William  Dodd,  esquier 1  launce 

Sir  Robert  Chester,  knight 1  1. 

ffrancis  Southwell,  esquier 1  1. 

Elizabethe  Butler,  widowe 1  1. 

John  Purvey,  esquier 1  1. 

John  Knighton,  esquier 1  1. 

George  Dacres,  esquier 1  1. 

John  Harrington,  esquier 1  1. 

Edwarde  Basshe,  esquier 1  1. 

Thomas  Burbage  , 11. 

Nicholas  Aylewarcle 1  1, 

Sir  Richarde  Rede,  knight 1  1. 

82 


Thomas  Rolfe,  gent 1  1. 

The  Lady  Elizabeth  Pope 1  1. 

Edwarcle  Capell,  esquier 1  1. 

Sir  Richard  Lee,  knight 1  1. 

Sir  Raiif  Rowlett,  knight 1  1. 

Richarde  Raynshawe,  esquier 1  1. 

Dorothie  Skipwith,  widowe 1  1. 

William  Barlee,  esquier 1  corslet 

The  Queen's  ''trusty  and  well  beloved  Sir  Raffe  Row- 
lett" was  Sheriff  of  Hertfordshire,  and  had  married 
Bacon's  aunt  the  year  before.  This  gentleman  fell  heir 
to  the  estate  of  Gorhambury  and  sold  it  to  Sir  Nicholas 
Bacon,  the  Lord  Keeper,  in  1561.  Bacon's  aunt,  Mar- 
garet Cooke,  the  "Queue's  maide,"  did  not  survive  her 
marriage  long,  as  we  see  by  the  following  entry  written 
by  Bacon's  uncle,  Sir  Thomas  Hobey,  in  his  Diary,  1558:. 

"Monday  the  xxvij  of  June,  the  marriage  was 
made  and  solemnized  between  me  and  Elizabeth 
Cooke,  daughter  of  Sir  Anthony  Cooke,  knight. 
The  same  day  was  also  her  sister  Margaret,  the 
Quene's  maid,  maried  to  Sir  Rauf  Rowlet,  knight, 
who  shortlie  after  departed  out  of  this  life."^ 
I  have  no  doubt  the  Thomas  Burbage  herein  mentioned,, 
who  furnished  "launce,"  was  related  to  the  actor,  James 
Burbage.    As  early  as  1559,  Elizabeth's  favorite,  the  Earl 
of  Leicester,  had  a  company  of  players.    In  1574  James 
Burbage  was  in  Leicester's  company.    He  built  his  first 
theatre  close  to  Bishopsgate  road  in  1576.     "When  Sir 
William  Moore  of  Losely  Surrey,  in  1595-6,  consigned 
to  him  a  large  house  in  Blackfriars,  which  he  converted 
into  the  Blackfriars   Theatre,  he   signs  himself  James 
Burbage,  gentleman.    Yet  his  son,  Cuthbert  Burbage,  did 
not  apply  for  a  coat-of-arms  until  1634.    He  then  claimed 
he  belonged  to  a  Hertfordshire  family. 

^Camden  Miscellany,  Vol.  X,  p.  127. 

Co 


The  following  item  taken  from  Burhage  and  Shake- 
speare Stage,  p.  243,  connects  Francis  Bacon  directly  with 
one  William  Burbage : 

''Francis  Bacon  had  a  case  in  Chancery  against 
a  William  Burbage,   about   property  left  to  his 
brother,  Anthony  Bacon.     See  Chancery,  D.  &  0., 
Book  1590,  32-33,  Eliz.  f.  533,  621,  626,  684,  691." 
This  was  in  1590-1.     Anthony  Bacon  died  1601.     It 
would  be  interesting  to  know  more  about  this  suit,  and  I 
hope  it  will  be  followed  up  by  some  loving  student  of  the 
Bacon  brothers.    The  Masters  in  Chancery  prior  to  1597, 
were : 
tSir  William  Birde. 
Thomas  Legg. 

Sir  Edward  Stanhope.^ 

That  indefatigable  scholar,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Stopes  Hon, 
F.  E.  S.  L.,  has  ''found  a  real  association  of  Francis 
Bacon  with  the  Theatre."  It  seems  Bacon,  in  44  Eliza., 
saved  Cuthbert  Burbage  from  bankruptcy  and  ruin-^  as 
follows : 

"On  17th  June,  44  Eliz.,  Richard  Hudson  and 
Thomas  Osborne  said  that  none  of  the  matters  with 
which  Giles  Alleyn  charged  them  were  true  and 
demurred  against  his  bill  being  brought  against 
them.  The  Court  therefore  referred  the  case  to 
the  consideration  of  the  right  worshipful  Francis 
Bacon,  Esq.,  and  'he  reporteth  that  the  said  Bill 
is  very  uncertain  and  insufficient,  and  that  no 
further  answer  needeth  to  he  made  thereto.' 

"Here  at  last  I  have  found  a  real  association  of 
Francis  Bacon  with  the  Theatre,  and  I  am  glad 'to 
find  he  supported  its  owners  and  friends.  But  it 
was  only,  as  we  have  seen,  in  his  legal  capacity, 
not  a  poetic  one  at  all.  This  case,  it  may  be  seen 
by    the    dates,    was    running    concurrently    with 

may  den,  p.  230. 

^Burhage  and  SliaJccspcarc  Star/e,  pp.  84-85. 

84 


AUeyn's  second  case  at  Common  Law  against  Cuth- 
bert  Burbage  for  breach  of  covenant,  which  was 
brouglit  in  Hilary  term,  43  Eliz.,  heard  in  Easter 
ternC  44  Eliz.,  1602,  on  the  Quindene  of  Easter. 
Cuthbert  had  defended  himself,  Giles  and  Sara 
threw  themselves  on  the  conntry  and  demanded  a 
jury — which  was  not  named — and  no  decision  was 
come  to  because  this  Star  Chamber  case  decision 
of  June,  1602,  covered  the  proceedings  in  that 
court,  as  well  as  in  all  others. 

' '  So,  at  last,  by  midsummer  1602,  Cuthbert  Bur- 
bage cast  the  millstone  of  Alleyn's  law-suits  from 
his  neck.  The  gall  must  have  remained  in  him  for 
long,  for  much  trouble  and  anxiety  had  been  spent, 
and  much  more  money  than  would  appear  on  the 
surface.  It  would  be  a  little  alleviation  to  him  that 
Giles  Alleyn  would  have  to  pay  costs  in  both  of 
the  latter  courts  of  Star  Chamber,  and  King's 
Bench.  But  it  would  not  cover  the  losses  to  the  . 
family,  or  to  the  Globe  Company,  for  the  output 
and  the  actor  Richard's  time  and  strength  must 
have  been  occupied  considerably  also." 

And  further: 

Jur.  12th  June  44  Eliz.,  per  Richard  Hudson. 
17th  June  44  Eliz.,  per  Thomas  Osborne. 
"The  joYute  and  severall  demurrers  of  Richard  Hudson 
and  Thomas  Osborne  defendants.  By  protestation  not 
acknowledging  nor  confessinge  anie  of  the  matters  con- 
teyned  in  the  said  Bill  that  they  are  charged  with  are 
true. 

The  Bill  of  Complaint  brought  against  them  and  others 
is  verv  untrue,  slanderous  and  uncertain  and  insufficient 
in  Lawe  to  be  answered  and  they  are  not  tied  to  make  any 
answer  for  divers  faults  and  namelie  for  that  the  matters 
and  supposed  perjury  in  the  said  Bill,  in  which  they  are 
charged,  are  so  uncertainly  layed,  these  defendants  can- 
not make  any  answer  and  the  other  defendants  having 

85 


been  served  with  a  process,  and  having  appeared  and 
demnrred  "which  demurrer  being  referred  by  the  Orders- 
of  the  Court  to  the  right  worshipful  Francis  Bacon  Es- 
quire, he  uppon  perusal  and  consideration  had  of  the  said 
Bill  of  Complaint  hath  already  reported  that  the  said  Bill 
is  very  uncertayne  and  insufficient,  and  that  no  further 
ansiver  nedeth  to  he  made  thereto." 

For  which  causes  and  for  divers  other  matters  and 
defects  in  the  said  Bill  appearing,  they  the  said  defend- 
ants do  demur  in  Law  upon  the  said  Bill  and  pray  to  be 
dismissed  from  this  honorable  court  with  costs.^ 

It  seems  that  Eichard  Hudson  mentioned  in  the  above- 
lawsuit  was  from  St.  Albans. 

One  James  Hudson  was  a  great  friend  of  the  Bacons 
and  became  a  member  of  Grays  Inn  in  1603.  But  he  was 
a  gentleman  and  one  of  the  King's  servants.  In  1583,  by 
agreement  of  the  Readers  at  Grays  Inn,  John  Hudson  of 
the  kitchen  was  given  vi^  viii"^  towards  his  marriage.^ 

In  Sir  Francis  Bacon's  accounts  for  1609  I  find:  "To^ 
Mr.  Hudson  29  November  1609  in  full  paiment  of  all  his 

bills  for  wine  47  6  5.® 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  Francis  Bacon  was  of  use  to 
so  deserving  a  man  as  Cuthbert  Burbage,  and  I  have  rea- 
son to  think  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Cuthbert  Burbage,. 
married  into  a  family  that  was  related  to  Bacon.  Mil- 
dred Cooke,  daughter  of  William  Cooke  of  Hartshill, 
Warwickshire,  married  Sir  Henry  Maxey,  Kt.,  of  Brad- 
well  Co.,  Essex.  Lady  Maxey  was  a  friend  of  Anne  Fit- 
ton  (Lady  Newdigate).'^ 

Cuthbert    Burbage 's    daughter    married    an    Amias- 

Maxey. 

*lj)id.,  p.  227. 

■'Pension  Book  Grays  Inn,  p.  484. 

"Ibid.,  p.  492. 

''Gossii)  from  a  Muniment  Room,  p.  170. 

^Burbage  and  Shakespeare  Stage,  p.  134. 

SG 


On  23  April,  1G17,  Lord  Chancellor  Bacon  writes  the 
following  letter  to  one  Mr.  Maxey,  to  whom  he  presents 
the  rectory  of  Frome  St.  Quinton,  with  the  chapel  of 
Evershot  in  Dorsetshire: 

''After  my  hearty  commendations,  I  have  heard 
of  you,  as  a  man  well  deserving,  and  of  able  gifts 
to  become  profitable  in  the  Church ;  and  there  be- 
ing fallen  within  my  gift  the  rectory  of  &c  which 
seems  to  be  a  thing  of  good  value,  £18  in  the  King's 
books,  and  in  a  good  country,  I  have  thought  good 
to  make  offer  of  it  to  you ;  the  rather  that  you  are 
of  Trinity  College,  whereof  myself  was  some  time : 
and  my  purpose  is  to  make  choice  of  men  rather 
by  care  and  inquiry,  than  by  their  own  suits  and 
commendatory  letters.  So  I  bid  you  farewell  from 
Dorset  House,  23  April  1617." 

The  next  day  Bacon  presented  the  poet,  Giles  Fletcher, 
also  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  to  the  rectory  of 
Hellmingham  in  Suffolk.^ 

Now  the  beautiful  thing  about  these  gifts  of  Bacon's  is 
that  he,  through  ''care  and  inquiry,"  sought  these  gentle- 
men out  and  rewarded  them — something  Elizabeth  and 
his  kinsmen,  the  Cecils,  had  never  done  for  him  in  all  his 
struggles.  It  is  such  deeds  as  the  above  that  show  Bacon 
in  his  true  colors,  and  it  is  only  one  out  of  hundreds  I 
could  point  out. 

I  desire  the  reader  to  bear  in  mind  the  following  sad  let- 
ters were  written  during  the  time  the  Gesta  Gyaycnnim  was 
conceived  and  carried  out.  The  letter  from  Bacon's 
mother,  whose  mind  was  even  then  failing  (she  died  in 
1610)  interests  me  because  I  have  found  that  the  Robert 
Knight  mentioned  was  a  Porter  at  Grays  Inn.  Mr. 
Keginakl  J.  Fletcher,  M.  A.,  Editor  Pension  Bool-  of  Grays 
Inn,  says  they  did  not  have  a  porter  until  1590. 

'Speclding's  Letters  and  Life  of  Baeon,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  172. 

87 


A  Eobert  Knight's  daughter  married  a  Eadus  Rowlett, 
and  Lady  Anne  Bacon's  youngest  sister  Margaret  mar- 
ried Sir  Ralph  Eowlitt  in  1558. 

LADY  BACON  TO  FRANCIS  BACON. 

Gray's  Inn,  Aug.  26,  1594. 
I  was  so  full  of  back-pain  when  you  came  hither,  that 
my  memory  was  very  slippery.  I  forgot  to  mention  of 
rents.  If  you  have  not,  I  have  not,  received  Frank's  last 
half-year  of  Midsummer,  the  first  half  so  long  unpaid. 
You  will  mar  your  tenants  if  you  suffer  them.  Mr.  Broc- 
quet  is  suffered  by  your  brother  to  cosen  me  and  beguile 
me  without  check.  I  fear  you  came  too  late  to  London 
for  your  horse :  ever  regard  them.  I  desire  Mr.  Trot  to 
hearken  to  some  honest  man,  and  cook  too  as  he  may.  If 
you  can  hear  of  a  convenient  place  I  shall  be  willing  if 
it  so  please  God;  for  Lawson  will  draw  your  brother 
wherever  he  chooses,  as  I  really  fear,  and  that  with  false 
semblance.  God  give  you  both  good  health  and  hearts 
to  serve  him  truly,  and  bless  you  always  with  his  favour. 
I  send  you  pigeons  taken  this  day,  and  let  blood.  Look 
well  about  you  and  yours  too.  I  hear  that  Robert  Knight 
is  but  sickly.  I  am  sorry  for  it.  I  do  not  write  to  my 
Lord-Treasurer.^  because  you  like  to  stay.  Let  this  letter 
be  unseen.  Look  very  well  to  your  health;  sup  not,  nor 
sit  up  late.  Surely  I  think  your  drinking  to  bedwards 
hindereth  your  and  your  brother's  digestion  very  much. 
I  never  knew  any  but  sickly  that  used  it,  besides  being  ill 
for  heads  and  eyes.  Observe  well,  yet  in  time.  Farewell 
in  Christ. 

A.  Bacon. 

There  were  several  Lawsons,  members  of  Grays  Inn. 
The  one  mentioned  by  Lady  Anne  may  have  been  one  of 

88 


the  Gentlemen  Pensioners  in  the  Gesta  Grayorum.  Her 
sentence,  '^I  desire  Mr.  Trot  to  hearken  to  some  honest 
man  and  'cook'  too  as  he  may,"  may  refer  to  her  nephew 
Cooke  who  was  one  of  Bacon's  Suretys: 

FRANCIS  BACON  TO  ANTHONY  BACON. 
My  cousin  Cook  is  some  four  days  home,  and  ap- 
pointeth  towards  Italy  that  day  sennight.  I  pray  take 
care  for  the  money  to  be  paid  over  within  four  or  five 
days.  The  sum  you  will  remember  is  150Z.  I  hear  nothing 
from  the  Court  in  mine  own  business.  I  steal  to  Twick- 
enham, purposing  to  return  this  night,  else  I  had  visited 
you  as  I  came  from  the  town.  Thus  in  haste  I  leave  you 
to  God's  preservation. 

Your  entire  loving  brother, 

Fr.  Bacon. 

Bacon  often  stole  to  Twickenham,  which  he  called  his 
'^ earthly  paradise";  but  on  Jan.  28  he  is  back  at  Grays 
Inn  attending  the  Pensions.  I  find  he  was  absent  from 
them  during  the  months  of  April,  May,  and  June,  as  well 
as  the  summer  of  1594,  the  year  in  which  Shakespeare 
brought  out  his  Lucrece.  He  was  present  again  in  Nov. 
18,  1594. 

On  Nov.  20,  1594,  the  Pensions  were  held  at  St.  Albans. 
It  would  be  pleasant  to  know  they  were  held  at  Gorham- 
bury,  Bacon's  country  home. 

Dixon,  referring  to  this  period,  says: 

''Anthony  is  not  now  at  Gray's  Inn  Square,  having 
taken  a  house  in  Bishopsgate-street,  a  fashionable  part 
of  the  city,  near  the  famous  Bull  Inn,  where  plays  are 
performed  before  cits  and  gentlemen,  very  much  to  the 
delight  of  Essex  and  his  jovial  crew,  but  very  much,  as 
Lady  Ann  conceives,  to  the  peril  of  her  son's  soul.  The 
good  mother  cannot  put  old  heads  on  young  necks,  say 

89 


what  slie  will.  ''I  am  sorry,"  she  writes  to  her  easy 
elder-born,  ''your  brother  and  you  charge  yourselves 
with  superfluous  horses ;  the  wise  will  laugh  at  you ;  being 
but  trouble  to  you  both ;  besides  your  debts,  long  journeys, 
iind  private  persons.  Earls  be  earls."  There  is  the  rub. 
Lady  Ann  knows,  and  does  not  love,  these  madcap  earls. 

By  help  of  Cecil,  and  the  Vice-Chamberlain,  Fulke 
Greville,  Bacon  succeeds  so  far  as  to  get  the  nomination 
of  Solicitor  put  off.  For  more  than  a  year  the  situation 
undergoes  no  change. 

Bacon  is  sick  of  heart;  looks  wan  and  thin,  as  all 
the  world  takes  note.  The  heady  Earl  has  proved  to  him 
a  fatal  friend." 

Perhaps  Anthony  Bacon  who  was  now  living  in 
Bishopsgate  Street  had  met  Shakespeare,  who,  we  are 
told,  had  a  house  also  in  Bishopsgate. 

We  will  now  turn  to  Spedding's  Letters  and  Life  of 
Bacon  for  the  following  letters  and  memorandum,  for  it 
is  drawing  very  near  the  time  when  the  Sports  and  revels 
in  the  Gesta  Grayorum  are  to  be  given  at  Grays  Inn, 
and  they  show  another  side  of  Francis  Bacon,  whom 
many  to  this  day  call  '^ dryasdust  Bacon." 

Spedding  says : 

1594  ''Michaelmas  Term  passed;  winter  set  in  early 
with  frost  and  snow;  and  still  no  Solicitor  ap- 
pointed. Meanwhile  the  burden  of  debt  and  the 
difficulty  of  obtaining  necessary  supplies  was  daily 
increasing.  Anthony's  correspondence  during 
this  autumn  is  full  of  urgent  applications  to  var- 
ious friends  for  loans  of  money,  and  the  following 
memorandum  shows  that  much  of  his  own  neces- 
sity arose  from  his  anxiety  to  supply  the  neces- 
sities of  his  brother."    Vol.  1,  p.  321. 

no 


**  Memorandum.  That  the  fourth  of  October,  '94,  at 
my  brother  coming  to  me  after  a  fit  of  the  stone,  and 
falling  into  talk  of  the  money  he  ought  me  as  principal 
debt,  he  acknowledged  to  be  due  to  me  £650;  whereof 
£200  I  borrowed  of  Mr.  Mills  and  paid  it  him  again; 
£200  of  the  money  I  had  of  Alderman  Spencer;  £100 
before  he  went  his  journey  into  the  north,  £60  in  money 
and  £40  for  my  coach-horses;  £150  after  his  return; 
besides  many  other  payments  to  Mr.  Senhouse  and 
others."    Ibid.,  p.  322. 

This  ''journey  into  the  north"  was  taken  at  the  Queen's 
command.  She  litle  dreamed  these  two  poor  gentlemen 
had  to  borrow  the  money  for  the  journey.  If  she  did 
she  cared  not.  Nor  did  she  recall  the  vast  sum  it  cost 
their  father  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon  to  entertain  her  four 
days  at  Gorhambury  in  1573. 

FRANCIS  BACON  TO  HIS  BROTHER  ANTHONY. 

1594     Brother  : 

I  did  move  you  to  join  with  me  in  security  for 
£500,  which  I  did  purpose  then  dividedly  to  have 
taken  up,  £300  elsewhere,  and  £200  by  way  of  for- 
bearance, both  to  the  satisfaction  of  Peter  Van- 
lore   (!).     Hereunto,  I  thank  you,  you  assented. 

^  I  have  now  agreed  with  Peter  for  the  taking  up 

of  the  whole  of  one  man,  according  to  which  I  send 
you  the  bonds.  And  whereas  you  shall  find  the 
bond  to  be  of  £600,  which  is  £100  more ;  true  it  is 
that  first  the  jewel  cost  £500  and  odd,  as  shall 

'  appear  to  you  by  my  bond.    Next  I  promise  you 

immediately  (for  we  are  agreed  so)  to  free  you 
of  one  hundreth,  for  which  you  stand  bound  to 
Mr.  William  Fleetwood.     So  in  haste  I  commend 

91 


you  to  God's  good  preservation:  from  my  chamber 
in  Grav's  Inn,  this  10th  of  December. 
Yonr  entire  loving  brother, 

Fr.  Bacon. 

Ibid.,  p.  324. 

THE  SAME  TO  THE  SAME. 
Beother  : 

I  have  written  a  few  words  to  Sir  Antonio  Perez, 
which  if  you  allow  I  pray  seal  and  deliver  to  my  servant 
to  bear.  I  did  doubt  I  should  not  see  him  of  these  two 
or  three  days ;  which  made  me  use  litteris  praecursoriis. 
I  have  since  considered  of  a  marvellous  apt  man  to  be 
joined  in  trust,  in  that  the  world  taketh  note  of  him  for 
true  honesty,  and  is  obliged  to  my  Lord's  house,  being 
used  in  near  confidence  by  Mr.  Secretary.  It  is  Mr. 
William  Gerrard  of  Gray's  Inn,  who  also  by  reason  of 
his  abode  is  at  hand  to  repair  to  me  for  conference.  If 
your  opinion  concur,  let  us  rest  upon  him  in  case  the 
occasion  be  given.  Qd.  erit  e  re  domini.  So  in  haste, 
desirous  to  hear  of  your  good  night's  rest,  I  further 
salute  you  with  Mr.  Milles  his  new  bond  sine  litura. 
From  my  chamber  at  Gray's  Inn,  this  13th  of  December, 
1594. 

Your  entire  loving  brother, 

Fr.  Bacon. 
—Ibid  p.  325. 

Spedding  adds: 

''I  trust  they  will  not  mum  nor  mask  nor  sinfully 
revel"  (so  writes  Lady  Bacon  to  her  son  Anthony,  on 
the  5th  of  December)  ''at  Gray's  Inn.  Who  were  some- 
time counted  first,  God  grant  they  wane  not  daily  and 
deserve  to  be  named  last."     But  it  was  too  late  for 

92 


praying.  The  yoiitli  of  Gray's  Inn  were  already  deep  in 
sinful  consultation.  Their  revels,  in  which  they  used 
excel,  had  been  intermitted  for  the  last  three  or  four 
years,  and  they  were  resolved  to  redeem  the  time  by 
producing  this  year  something  out  of  the  common  way. 
Their  device  was  to  turn  Gray's  Inn,  ''with  the  consent 
and  advice  of  the  Readers  and  Ancients,"  into  the  sem- 
blance of  a  court  and  kingdom,  and  to  entertain  each 
other  during  the  twelve  days  of  Christmas  licence  with 
playing  at  kings  and  counsellors.    Ihid,  Vol.  1,  p.  326. 

The  years  1592,  1593,  and  1594,  were  particularly  sad 
and  distressing  ones  for  Lady  Anne  Bacon  and  her  gifted 
sons,  Anthony  and  Francis  Bacon.  Here  is  a  letter 
from  Francis  to  his  mother  which  was  written  about  the 
time  Shakespeare  brought  out  Venus  and  Adonis. 

FRANCIS  BACON  TO  LADY  BACON. 

From  Gray's  Inn,  April  16,  1593. 
My  duty  most  humbly  remembered.  I  assure  myself 
that  your  ladyship,  as  a  wise  and  kind  mother  to  us  both, 
will  neither  find  it  strange  nor  unwise  that,  tendering 
first  my  brother's  health,  which  I  know  by  mine  own 
experience  to  depend  not  a  little  upon  a  free  mind,  and 
then  his  credit,  I  presume  to  put  your  ladyship  in  re- 
membrance of  your  motherly  offer  to  him  the  same  day 
you  departed,  which  was  that  to  help  him  out  of  debt 
you  would  be  content  to  bestow  your  whole  interest  in 
markes  upon  him.  The  which  unless  it  would  please  your 
ladyship  to  accomplish  out  of  hand,  I  have  just  cause  to 
fear  that  my  brother  will  be  put  to  a  very  shrewde  plunge, 
either  to  forfeit  his  reversion  to  Harwin  (?)  or  else  to 
undersell  it  very  much;  for  the  avoiding  of  both  which 
great  inconveniences  I  see  no  other  remedy  than  your 
ladyship  surrender  in  time,  the  formal  drafte  whereof  I 

93 


refer  to  my  brother  himself,  whom  I  have  not  any  way  as 
yet  made  acquainted  with  this  my  motion,  neither  mean 
to  do  till  I  hear  from  you.  The  ground  whereof  being 
only  a  brotherly  care  and  affection,  I  hope  your  ladyship 
will  think  and  accept  of  it  accordingly :  beseeching  you  to 
believe  that  being  so  near  and  dear  part  of  me  as  he  is, 
that  cannot  but  be  a  grief  unto  me  to  see  a  mind  that 
hath  given  so  sufficient  proof  of  wit  (?)  in  having  brought 
forth  many  good  thoughts  for  the  general  to  be  over- 
burdened and  cumbered  with  a  care  of  clearing  his  par- 
ticular estate.  Touching  myself,  my  diet,  I  thank  God, 
hitherto  hath  wrought  good  effect,  and  am  advised  to  con- 
tinue this  whole  month,  not  meddling  with  any  purgative 
physic  more  than  I  must  needs,  which  will  be  but  a  trifle 
during  my  whole  diet;  and  so  I  most  humbly  take  my 
leave. 

F.  B. 

Dixon  in  his  Personal  History  of  Lord  Bacon  says  of 
this  sad  year  for  the  loving  brothers : 

"No  young  fellow  of  Gray's  Inn,  waiting  for  the  tide 
to  flow,  is  sharper  set  for  funds  than  the  young  knight 
for  Middlesex  or  his  elder  brother.  Anthony  tries  to 
raise  his  rents,  and  some  of  the  men  about  him — godless 
rogues,  as  Lady  Bacon  says — propose  that  he  shall  let  his 
farms  to  the  highest  bidders.  Goodman  Grinnell,  who 
has  the  land  at  Barly,  pays  less  rent  than  he  ought:  let 
him  go  out  and  a  better  man  come  in.  But  Goodman 
Grinnell  speeds  with  his  long  face  to  Lady  Ann. 
"What!"  cries  the  good  lady  to  her  son;  "turn  out  the 
Grinnells !  Why,  the  Grinnells  have  lived  at  Barly  these 
hundred  and  twenty  years!"  So  the  brothers  have  to 
look  elsewhere.  Bonds  are  coming  due.  A  famous 
money-lender  lives  in  the  city,  Spencer  by  name,  rich  as 


a  Jew  and  close  as  a  miser ;  liim  they  go  to,  cap  in  hand, 
and  witli  honeyed  words.  Tlie  miser  is  a  good  miser, 
and  allows  his  bond  to  lie.  Francis  writes  to  him  from 
his  brother  Edward's  house  at  Twickenham  Park,  to 
which  he  has  removed  from  Gray's  Inn  for  the  benefit  of 
country  air.' 


)  J 


FRANCIS  BACON  TO  MR.  SPENCER. 

Twickenham  Park,  Sept.  19,  1593. 
Good  Mr.  Spencer, 

Having  understood  by  my  man  your  kind  offer  to  send 
my  brother  and  me  our  old  bond,  we  both  accept  the  same 
with  hearty  thanks,  and  pray  you  to  cause  a  new  to  be 
made  for  half  a  year  more,  which  I  will  both  sign  and 
seal  before  one  Booth,  a  scrivener,  here  at  Isleworth, 
and  deliver  it  him  to  your  use,  which  you  know  will  be  as 
good  in  law  as  though  you  were  here  present.  True  it  is 
that  I  cannot  promise  that  my  brother  should  be  here  at 
that  time  to  join  with  me,  by  reason  of  his  daily  attend- 
ance in  court,  by  occasion  whereof  I  am  to  be  your  sole 
debtor  in  the  new  bond.  As  for  the  mesne  profits  thereof, 
you  will  receive  them  presently.  I  have  given  charge  to 
my  man  to  deliver  it.  And  so  with  my  right  hearty  com- 
mendations from  my  brother  and  myself,  with  like  thanks 
for  your  good  will  and  kindness  towards  us,  which  we  al- 
ways shall  be  ready  to  acknowledge  when  and  wherein  we 
may,  I  commit  you  to  the  protection  of  the  Almighty. 
Your  assured  loving  friend, 

Fr.  Bacon. 

Dixon  continues : 

"Bacon  lies  sick  the  whole  summer  of  1593,  as  a  note 
to  his  old  friend  Lady  Paulett  shows.  Her  ladyship,  who 
was  so  kind  to  him  in  his  younger  days  in  France,  is  now 
a  widow;  his  good  friend  Sir  Amias  sleeping  the  great 

95 


sleep  under  a  splendid  tomb  in  the  cliancel  of  St.  Mar- 
tin's cliurcli.    Bacon  is  proud  and  glad  to  do  the  widow 


service." 


FRANCIS  BACON  TO  LADY  PAULETT. 

Twickenham  Park,  Sept.  23, 1593. 
Madam, 

Being  not  able  myself,  by  reason  of  my  long  languish- 
ing infirmity,  to  render  unto  your  ladyship  by  a  personal 
visitation  the  respect  I  owe  unto  your  ladyship,  I  would 
not  fail  to  acquit  some  part  of  my  debt  by  sending  this 
bearer,  my  servant,  expressly  to  know  how  your  ladyship 
doth,  which  I  beseech  God  may  be  no  worse  than  I 
wish  and  have  just  cause  to  wish,  considering  your  lady- 
ship's ancient  and  especial  kindness  towards  me.  "Which 
if  I  have  not  hitherto  acknowledged  it  hath  been  only 
for  want  of  fit  occasions,  but  no  way  of  dutiful  affection, 
as  I  hope  in  time,  with  God's  help,  I  shall  be  able  to 
verify  by  good  effects  towards  the  young  gentleman  Mr. 
Blount,  your  nephew,  or  any  other  that  appertains  unto 
your  ladyship.  This  is,  good  madam,  much  less  than 
you  deserve  and  yet  all  I  can  offer,  which,  notwithstand- 
ing, I  hope  you  will  accept,  not  that  it  is  aught  worth  of 
itself,  but  in  respect  of  the  unfeigned  good  will  from 
whence  it  proceedeth.  And  so,  with  my  humble  and  right 
hearty  commendations  unto  your  good  ladyship,  I  beseech 
God  to  bless  you  with  increase  of  comfort  in  mind  and 
body,  and  admit  you  to  his  holy  protection. 

Your  ladyship's  assured  and  ready  in  all  kind  affec- 
tion to  do  you  service. 

Fr.  Bacon. 

This  Lady  was  the  wife  of  Sir  Amias  Poulet,  Eliza- 
beth's Ambassadore  to  France,  with  whom  Bacon  went 

96 


Abroad  in  1576  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  Sir  Amias  Poulet 
was  Keeper  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  when  in  1586 
Elizabeth  hinted  at  her  assassination,  and  his  well-known 
letter  to  Sir  Francis  Walsingham  wherein  he  says :  ' '  God 
forbid  that  I  should  make  so  pour  a  shipwreck  of  my 
conscience,  or  leave  so  great  a  blot  to  my  poor  posterity, 
to  shed  blood  without  law  or  warrant."  I  have  often 
wondered  if  this  "Mr.  Blount,"  Lady  Poulet 's  nephew, 
to  whom  Bacon  refers,  was  the  Ed.  Blount  who  in  1623 
added  sixteen  of  Shakespeare's  plays  to  the  first  folio 
which  had  never  been  printed  before  or  given  to  other 
men  I 

This  suggestion  may  be  worth  looking  into.  Other 
letters  from  Francis  Bacon  follow,  Dixon  says : 

"Duns  weigh  on  the  two  brothers.  Here  are  two  notes 
to  Lady  Ann,  both  from  Francis,  full  of  the  same  sad 

romance  of  love  and  debt.    One  runs : 

* 

FRANCIS  BACON  TO  LADY  BACON. 

From  the  Court,  Oct.  3,  1593. 
Madam, 

I  received  this  afternoon  at  the  Court  your  letter, 
after  I  had  sent  back  your  horse  and  written  to  you  this 
morning.  And  for  my  brother's  kindness,  it  is  accus- 
tomed; he  never  having  yet  refused  his  security  for  me, 
as  I,  on  the  other  side,  never  made  any  difficulty  to  do 
the  like  by  him,  according  to  our  several  occasions.  And 
therefore,  if  it  be  not  to  his  own  disfurnishing,  which  I 
reckon  all  one  with  mine  own  want,  I  shall  receive  good 
ease  by  that  hundred  pounds ;  specially  your  ladyship 
of  your  goodness  being  content  it  shall  be  repaid  of  Mr. 
Boldroe's  debt,  which  it  pleased  you  to  bestow  upon  me. 
And  my  desire  is,  it  shall  be  f)aid  to  Knight  at  Gray's 
Lm,  who  shall  receive  order  from  me  to  pay  two  fifths 

97 


[?]  (which  I  wish  had  been  two  hundred)  where  I  owe, 
and  where  it  presseth  me  most.  Sir  John  Fortescue  is 
not  yet  in  Court;  both  to  him  and  otherwise  I  will  be 
mindful  of  Mr.  Downing 's  cause  and  liberty  with  the  first 
opportunity.  Mr.  Nevill,  my  cousin,  though  I  be  further 
distant  than  I  expected,  yet  I  shall  have  an  apt  occasion 
to  remember.  To  my  cousin  Kemp  I  am  sending.  But 
that  would  rest  between  your  ladyship  and  myself,  as 
you  said.  Thus  I  commend  your  ladyship  to  God's  good 
providence. 

Your  Ladyship's  most  obedient, 

Fe.  Bacon. 

FRANCIS  BACON  TO  LADY  BACON. 

Twickenham  Park,  Nov.  2,  1593. 

Madam, 

I  most  humbly  thank  your  ladyship  for  your  letter 
and  sending  your  man  Bashawe  to  visit  me,  who  pur- 
posetli  with  God's  help  so  soon  as  possibly  I  can  to  do 
my  duty  to  your  ladyship,  but  the  soonest  I  doubt  will 
be  to-morrow  or  next  Monday  come  sennight.  My 
brother,  I  think,  will  go  to  Saint  Albans  sooner,  with 
my  Lord  Keeper,  who  hath  kindly  offered  him  room  in 
his  obscure  lodgings  there,  as  he  hath  already  resigned 
unto  him  the  use  of  his  chamber  in  the  Court.  God 
forbid  that  your  ladyship  should  trouble  yourself  with 
any  extraordinary  care  in  respect  of  our  presence,  which 
if  we  thought  should  be  the  least  cause  of  your  discontent- 
ment, we  would  rather  absent  ourselves  than  occasion 
any  way  your  ladyship  disquietness.  As  for  Sotheram, 
I  have  been  and  shall  be  always  ready  to  hear  dutifully 
your  ladyship's  motherly  admonitions  touching  him  or 
any  other  man  or  matter,  and  to  respect  them  as  1  ought. 

98 


And  so,  with  remembrance  of  my  limnble  duties,  I  be- 
seech God  to  bless  and  preserve  your  ladyship. 

F.  B. 

Dixon  in  his  "Personal  Life  of  Bacon,"  says:  Essex 
is  poor.  Dress,  dinners,  horses,  courtesans  exhaust  his 
coffers.  If  he  cannot  pay  in  coin  he  will  pay  in  place. 
His  servant  Francis  Bacon  shall  be  made  the  Queen's 
Solicitor.  Essex  swears  it.  .  .  .  Egerton  and  Fortescue 
urge  his  suit  with  admiring  friendship  on  the  Queen 
Every  one  at  the  bar,  save  only  Coke,  admits  his  claim 

to  place At  first  the  Queen  is  gracious;  extols 

Bacon's  eloquence  and  wit,  while  doubting  if  he  be  deep 
in  law.  It  only  needs  that  his  nomination  shall  be  made 
in  the  projDer  way ;  because  it  is  the  best,  not  because  this 
or  that  lord  of  her  Court  may  wish  it  made.  This  does- 
not  please  the  Earl.  Pledged  to  make  Bacon's  fortune,, 
he  will  not  stoop  to  see  his  own  debts  paid  by  another 
hand.  The  work  must  be  his  own :  ' '  Upon  me, ' '  he  says, 
"must  lie  the  labour  of  his  establishment;  upon  me  the 
disgrace  will  light  of  his  refusal." 

The  Queen  gets  angry  at  this  selfish  pride.  When  he^ 
talks  of  Bacon  she  shuts  her  ears ;  but  night  and  day  he 
hammers  at  the  name ;  doing  his  full  of  mischief ;  fretting 
and  sulking  till  he  drives  her  mad.  Never  were  good  in- 
tentions worse  bestowed.  A  brief  note  from  the  Earl 
to  Bacon  brings  the  impatient  Queen  and  her  importunate 
suitor  on  the  scene : — 

TPIE  EARL  OF  ESSEX  TO  FRANCIS  BACON. 

Gray's  Inn,  May  1,  1594. 

SlE, 

The  Queen  did  yesternight  fly  the  gift,  and  I  do  wish,, 
if  it  be  no  impediment  to  the  cause  you  do  handle  to- 
morrow, you  did  attend  again  this  afternoon.    I  will  be^ 

99 


at  tlie  Court  in  the  evening,  and  go  with  Mr.  Vice-Cham- 
berlain, so  as,  if  you  fail  before  we  come,  yet  afterwards 
I  doubt  not  but  he  or  I  shall  bring  you  together.  This 
I  write  in  haste  because  I  would  have  no  opportunity 
omitted  in  this  point  of  access.  I  wish  to  you  as  to  my- 
self, and  rest 

Your  most  affectionate  friend, 

Essex. 

Dixon  continues :    The  Queen  will  not  see  him. 

Bacon  is  surprised  and  hurt.  His  hopes  for  the  mo- 
ment dashed,  he  perceives  no  chance  of  succeeding  even 
at  a  better  time,  unless  the  Queen  can  be  induced  to  leave 
the  Solicitorship  for  the  present  void.  To  this  end  he 
apj)lies  to  his  cousin  Cecil.    Here  is  his  note : 

FRANCIS  BACON  TO  SIR  ROBERT  CECIL. 

My  most  honorable  good  Cousin, 

Your  honour  in  your  wisdom  doth  well  perceive  that 
my  access  at  this  time  is  grown  desperate  in  regard  of 
the  hard  terms  that  as  well  the  Earl  of  Essex  as  Mr. 
Vice-Chamberlain,  who  were  to  have  been  the  means 
thereof,  stand  in  with  her  in  acceding  to  their  occasions. 
And  therefore  I  am  now  only  to  fall  upon  that  point  of 
delaying  and  preserving  the  matter  entire  till  a  better 
constellation,  which,  as  it  is  not  hard,  as  I  conceive,  con- 
sidering the  proving  business  and  the  instant  Progress, 
&c.,  so  I  recommend  in  special  to  your  honour's  care,  who 
in  sort  assured  me  thereof,  and  upon  [whom]  now  in 
my  lord  of  Essex'  absence  I  have  only  to  rely.  And  if 
it  be  needful,  I  humbly  pray  you  to  move  my  Lord  your 
father  to  lay  his  sure  hand  to  the  same  delay.  And  so 
I  wish  vou  all  increase  of  honour. 

Your  poor  kinsman  in  faithful  prayers  and  duty, 

Francis  Bacon. 

100 


Cecil,  who  knows  that  the  Earl,  and  none  but  the  Earl, 
stands  in  the  way  of  his  cousin's  rise,  writes  back,  on 
the  same  sheet  of  paper,  in  the  left  corner,  these  words : — 

SIR  EGBERT  CECIL  TO  FRANCIS  BACON. 

Cousin, 

I  do  think  nothing  cuts  the  throat  more  of  your  present 
access  than  the  Earl's  being  somewhat  troubled  at  this 
time.  For  the  delaying,  I  think  it  not  hard ;  neither  shall 
there  want  my  best  endeavours  to  make  it  easy,  of  which 
I  hope  you  shall  not  need  to  doubt.  By  the  judgment 
which  I  gather  of  divers  circumstances  confirming  my 
opinion,  I  protest  I  suffer  with  you  in  mind  that  you  are 
thus  yet  gravelled;  but  time  will  founder  all  your  com- 
petitors and  set  you  on  your  feet,  or  else  I  have  little 
understanding."    Ihid. 

Thus  Sir  Robert  Cecil,  the  lago  of  Elizabeth's  Court, 
writes  to  his  poor  kinsman.  "Mr.  Vice  Chamberlain"  was 
Sir  Thomas  Heneage  of  Gesta  Grayorum  interest.  He 
had  helped  many  of  Elizabeth's  favorites  to  gain  her 
good  graces,  namely  Leicester,  Hatton,  Essex,  and  others. 
To  return  to  Mr.  Dixon  who  says : 

"For  the  first  time  in  his  life  Bacon  is  now  a  stranger 
at  the  court.  Lady  Ann  lies  sick  at  Gorhambury ;  so  sick, 
that  the  "good  Christian  and  Saint  of  God,"  as  her  son 
affectionately  calls  her,  makes  up  her  soul  for  death.  Two 
of  her  household  have  been  snatched  away  from  her  side 
by  plague  or  fever.  She  is  down  with  ague.  Bacon 
wrestles  with  her  resignation,  praying  her  to  use  all  helps 
and  comforts  that  are  good  for  her  health,  to  the  end 
that  she  may  be  spared  to  her  children  and  her  friends, 
and  to  that  church  of  God  which  has  so  much  need  of 
her.  Here  is  the  letter  from  which  these  particulars  are 
derived" : 

101 


FRANCIS  BACON  TO  LADY  BACON. 

June  9,  1594. 

"My  hninble  duty  remembered,  I  was  sorrv  to  under- 
stand by  Goodman  Sotlieram  that  your  ladysliip  did  find 
any  weakness,  which  I  hope  was  but  caused  by  the  season 
and  weather,  which  waxeth  more  hot  and  faint.  I  was 
not  sorry,  I  assure  your  ladyship,  that  you  came  not  up,, 
in  regard  that  the  stirring  at  this  time  of  year,  and  the 
place  where  you  should  lie  not  being  very  open  nor  fresh,, 
might  rather  hurt  your  ladyship  than  otherwise.  And 
for  anything  to  be  passed  to  Mr.  Trot,  such  is  his  kind- 
ness, as  he  demandeth  it  not;  and  therefore,  as  I  am  to 
thank  your  ladyship  for  your  willingness,  so  it  shall  not 
be  needful  but  upon  such  an  occasion  as  may  be  without 
your  trouble,  which  the  rather  may  be  because  I  purpose,. 
God  willing,  to  come  down,  and  it  be  but  for  a  day,  to  visit 
your  ladyship,  and  to  do  my  duty  to  you.  In  the  mean 
time  I  i^ray  your  health,  as  you  have  done  the  part  of  a 
good  Christian  and  Saint  of  God  in  the  comfortable  pre- 
paring for  your  duty.  So  nevertheless,  I  pray,  deny  not 
your  body  the  due,  nor  your  children  and  friends,  and  the 
church  of  God,  which  hath  use  of  you,  but  that  you  enter 
not  into  further  conceit  than  is  cause;  and  withal  use 
all  comforts  and  helps  that  are  good  for  your  health  and 
strength.  In  truth  I  have  heard  Sir  Thomas  Scudamore 
often  complain,  after  his'  quartain  had  ceased,  that  he 
found  such  a  heaviness  and  swelling  under  his  ribs  that 
he  thought  he  was  buried  under  earth  all  from  the  waist ; 
and  therefore  that  accident  no  bad  incident.  Thus  I  com- 
mend your  ladyship  to  God's  good  preservation  from 
grief." 

Your  ladyship's  most  obedient  son, 

Fe.  Bacon. 

102 


SIR   JOHN    FASTOLF    AND    TIIF    P.ACON    FA^^IILY 

**0n  the  first,  as  on  every  subsequent,  produc- 
tion of  ^ Henry  IV'  the  main  public  interest  was 
concentrated  neither  on  the  King  nor  on  his  son, 
nor  on  Plotspur,  but  on  the  chief  of  Prince  Hal's 
riotous  comi)anions.  At  the  outset  the  propriety 
of  that  great  creation  was  questioned  on  a  political 
or  historical  ground  of  doubtful  relevance. 
Shakespeare  in  both  parts  of  'Henry  IV'  original- 
ly named  the  chief  of  the  prince's  associates  after 
Sir  John  Oldcastle,  a  character  in  the  old  play. 
But  Henry  Brooke,  eighth  lord  Cobham,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  the  title  early  in  1597,  and  claimed  de- 
scent from  the  historical  Sir  John  Oldcastle,  the 
Lollard  leader,  raised  objection;  and  when  the  first 
part  of  the  play  was  printed  by  the  acting-com- 
pany's authority  in  1598  ('newly  corrected'  in 
1599),  Shakespeare  bestowed  on  Prince  Hal's  tun- 
bellied  follower  the  new  and  deathless  name  of 
Falstaff.  A  trustworthy  edition  of  the  second  part 
of  'Henry  IV  also  appeared  with  Falstaff's  name 
substituted  for  that  of  Oldcastle  in  1600.  There 
the  epilogue  expressly  denied  that  Falstaff  had 
any  characteristic  in  common  with  the  martyr  Old- 
castle. "Oldcastle  died  a  martyr,  and  this  is  not 
the  man.  But  the  substitution  of  the  name  'Fal- 
staff' did  not  pass  without  protest.  It  hazily  re- 
called Sir  John  Fastolf,  an  historical  warrior  who 
had  already  figured  in  'Henry  VI'  and  was  owner 
at  one  time  of  the  Boar's  Head  Tavern  in  South- 
wark;  according  to  traditional  stage  directions,  the 
prince  and  his  companions  in  'Henry  IV'  fre- 
quent the  Boar's  Plead,  Eastcheap."' 

In  Bevil  Higgon's".!  SJioii  Yicic  of  English  History," 
1718,  he  states  that  Sir  John  Fastolf,  of  Henry  IV's  time 
had  "been  ridiculed  and  misrepresented  by  the  pen  of  a 
certain  poet  for  an  original  of  buffoonery  and  cowardise  for 

'Sidnej^  Lee's  Life  of  Shakespeare,  p.  169.     Ed.  189S. 

103 


no  other  reason  but  that  some  of  his  posterity  had  dis- 
obliged Mr.  Shakespear," 

I  have  shown  in  these  pages  that  the  Bacon  family  mar- 
ried with  the  Fastolfs,  but  nowhere  have  I  found  that  they 
(the  Fastolfs)  were  in  any  way  connected  with  the  Shake- 
speares.  If,  as  I  believe,  Bacon  was  Shakespeare's  patron, 
it  may  readily  be  conceived  ^xhJ  the  poet  held  Sir  John 
Fastolf  up  to  ridicule.  I  have  tried  to  show  that  "0/(?- 
castle-'  (the  original  appellation  given  to  Fastolf  in  the 
play,  in  no  way  was  meant  by  the  poet  as  a  slur  upon  the 
martyred  Lollord,  but  that  it  was  poking  fun  at  the  "old 
lad  of  the  castle,"  as  Prince  Henrv  calls  him.  Halliwell 
Philips,  in  his  ''Outlines/'  says,  "Fastolf  was  sometimes 
called  Falstatf  even  in  strictly  historical  works." 

Henry  Brooke,  eighth  lord  Cobham,  may  have  been 
joined  by  Secretary  Eobert  Cecil  in  his  objections  to 
the  name  of  Sir  John  Oldcastle  being  used.  Cecil  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Brooke,  Lord  Cobham 's  sister.  And  both 
Cecil  and  Lord  Cobham  hated  the  Earl  of  Essex,  who 
so  delighted  in  Shakespeare's  plays.  At  any  rate  the 
poet  substituted  the  name  of  Sir  John  Fastolf  for  that 
of  Sir  John  Oldcastle.  I  am  convinced  Shakespeare 
nev^r  intended  to  cast  a  stain  upon  the  Lollard  leader, 
who  only  bore  the  title  of  Lord  Cobham  by  courtesy  of 
bis  wife.  But  why  the  name  Falstaff  should  have  raised 
a  protest  is  another  story.  It  seems  to  me  that  from 
the  first  Shakespeare,  in  his  historical  dramas  Henry  IV.y 
Henry  V.  and  Henry  VI.  did  intend  to  gird  at  Sir  John 
Fastolf,  of  Caister  Castle,  Norfolk.  The  poet  who  asks, 
"What's  in  a  name!"  and  gives  the  world  all  we  call 
Shakespeare,  like  a  wizard,  transposes  a  letter  in  the 
name  of  Fastolf,  and  the  imperishable  I'alstaff  is  born 
to  make  perpetual  mirth  and  laughter  for  all  mankind. 
Shakespeare,  who  knew  Holinshed  and  the  ancient  Eng- 

104 


lisli  Cliroiiieles  by  lieart,  must  also  have  known  many 
interesting  details  of  the  personal  charaeters  of  those 
men  of  note  who  fought  or  took  part  in  the  cruel  civil 
wars  of  the  Eoses.  The  poet  lived  among  those  whose 
ancestors  felt  and  suffered  the  burdens  of  those  wars. 
I  feel  certain  Shakespeare  had  access  to  many  private 
letters  and  documents  that  were  preserved  in  the  fami- 
lies of  men  of  affairs  connected  with  England's  great 
past,  wherein  he  found  acts  and  facts  not  mentioned  in 
liistory. 

The  student  must  be  familiar  with  the  Paston  Letters 
to  thoroughly  appreciate  the  character  of  Sir  John  Fal- 
staff  in  Henrv  IV.,  Ilenrv  V.  and  llenrv  YI.  The  Fal- 
staff  of  the  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor  must  not 
be  confounded  with  the  Sir  John  of  the  historical 
plays.  Except  in  the  name,  there  is  no  relation  be- 
tween them.  Bacon's  scholarly  grandfather.  Sir  An- 
thony Cooke,  no  doubt  preserved  letters  and  documents 
greatly  exceeding  in  number  and  value  those  in  the 
Paston  family,  covering  the  same  period.  Sir  Anthony 
Cooke's  grandfather,  Sir  Thomas  Cooke,  knight  of 
the  Bath  and  Mayor  of  London,  was  a  contemporary  of 
Sir  John  Fastolf 's.  I  have  reason  to  think  he  and  Fas- 
tolf  were  rivals  on  the  high  seas  for  foreign  trade. 

I  am  convinced  Francis  Bacon  learned  from  family 
documents  the  true  character  of  Sir  John  Fastolf.  Not 
alone  from  his  maternal  ancestors,  the  Cooke's,  but  from 
the  Bacon  and  Fastolf  family  records  and  letters,  and 
that  these  original  documents  did  not  flatter  him  whom 
Prince' Hal,  afterwards  Henry  V.,  dubbed  ''My  old  lad 
of  the  Castle."^ 

Dawson  Turner  states  Henry  Y.  gave  Sir  John  Fastolf 

=1  Hen.  IV,  A  1.  S.  2.  - 

105 


license  to  fortify  a  dwelling  in  Caister,  ^'so  strong  as 
liimself  could  devise."  It  must  be  remembered  Fastolf 
was  nearly  seventy  years  old  when  he  began  to  build 
Caister  Castle.  He  seems  to  have  had  a  mania  for  cas- 
tles all  his  life.  Henry  V.  trusted  him  with  the  Castle 
■of  Veires  in  Gascony.  In  1425  he  took  the  Castle  of  Silly- 
Guillem.  In  1408  he  married  Milicent,  widow  of  Sir 
Stephen  Scrope,  who  brought  him  Castle  Crombe  in  Wilt- 
shire and  other  large  estates.  "These  he  turned  to  his 
own  account,  to  the  injury  of  her  son  and  heir  by  her 
first  husband,  Stephen  Scrope. '  '-^ 

Francis  Bacon's  great-great-grandfater,  Sir  Thomas 
Cooke,  like  Fastolf,  owned  many  ships  upon  the  sea, 
Cooke  having  "fishing  weirs  on  the  Colne."  We  are 
told  that  Fastolf,  to  relieve  the  garrison  at  Orleans,  suc- 
cessfully intercepted  a  convoy  of  fish,  "and  for  purposes 
•of  defence  used  the  barrels  of  herrings,  whence  the  battle 
obtained  its  popular  name,  'the  Battle  of  the  Herrings.'"^ 

Both  Sir  Thomas  Cooke  and  Sir  John  Fastolf 
owned  several  taverns  in  London.  Sir  Thomas  Cooke 
owned  the  Swan  and  Garland  in  Eastcheap,  the  Bear  and 
Dolphin"'  in  St.  Olave  Street,  and  the  Mary  Magdaliue  in 
Southwark.  While  Sir  John  Fastolf  owned  the  Boar's 
Head  Tavern  in  Southwark,  which  Shakespeare  in  Henry 
IV.  transfers  to  Eastcheap.  In  the  poet's  time  a  Boar's 
Head  was  near  the  Globe  and  owned  by  the  old  theatrical 
manager,  Henslowe.  Doubtless  Shakespeare,  Ben  Jon- 
son  and  many  of  their  worthies  often  held  merry  meet- 
ings under  its  roof. 

In  1450,  when  Sir  John  Fastolf  was  hiding  in  his  man- 
sion in  Southwark  from  the  rebel  Jack  Cade's  fury.  Sir 

w.  N.  B. 
*D.  N.  B. 

^The  Hostess  says  to  Falstaff :     "Thou  clicl'st   swear  to  me  upon  a 
parcel-gilt  goblet,  sitting  in  my  Dolphin  chamber,"  2  Hen.  IV.  II.  I. 

106 


Tliomas  Cooke  was  acting  as  Jack  Cade's  agent  in  Lon- 
don, trying  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos,  wliile  King- 
Henry  VI.  fled  to  Kenilworth. 

Edward  Poynings,  Cooke's  friend,  was  Cade's  carver 
and  sewer.  He  afterwards  married  the  sister  of  John 
Paston. 

But  who  protested  against  the  name  of  Falstaff  being 

used  in  the  plays!    I  can  think  of  no  one  but  the  Paston 

family  or  some  one  connected  w^ith  them,  to  whom  Sir 

John  Pastolf  willed  all  his  vast  estates,  although  they 

were  not  related  to  him  by  blood.  It  was  believed,  too,  by 

many  in  those  days  that  Sir  John  Fastolf 's  will  had  been 

forged,  and  that  the  Pastons  had  no  right  to  his  wealth. 

Francis   Bacon's   enemy.  Attorney  General   Coke,  had 

married  Bridget  Paston,^  who  brought  him  more  than 
£30,000  in  money  and  left  him  enormous  estates  besides. 

The  boundless  greed  of  Sir  John  Fastolf  had  bennefitted 
none  but  the  Pastons.  To  his  own  kinsmen  he  left  noth- 
ing. Oldys  says  the  Fastolf s  ''were  descended  from  an 
ancient  and  famous  English  family  in  Norfolk,  which 
had  tlourished  there  before  the  conquest."  The  Bacon's 
were  related  to  the  Fastolf  family.  Thomas  Fastolf,  son 
and  heir  of  John  Fastolf  of  Pettau,  County  Suffolk,  mar- 
ried Alice,  daughter  of  John  Bacon,  Esq.,  of  Hessett, 
County  Suffolk.  The  said  Thomas  Fastolf  and  Alice, 
his  wife,  had  issue — John,  son  and  heir;  Lionell,  George, 
Thomas  and  five  daughters.^ 

It  is  not  likely  these  descendants  of  Sir  John 
I^astolf  protested  against  his  being  held  up  to  scorn  on 
the  stage,  or  that  the  Bacon  family  had  any  reason  to 
regret  it.  As  I  said  before,  no  one  but  the  Pastons  or 
Coke  would  mind  it.  The  Paston's  also  came  into  posses- 
sion of  Gresham  Manor,  which  had  belonged  to  one  Ed- 


^Fenn.  Paston  Letters,  11.  lo8. 
Visitation  of  Suffolk,  1561-1612. 


107 


mund  Bacon,^  in  Edward  II. 's  time.  Margery,  daughter 
and  heir  of  Edmund  Bacon,  married  Sir  William  Mo- 
leyns.  Thomas  Chaucer,  son  of  the  poet  Chaucer,  mar- 
ried the  great-granddaugliter  of  Edmund  Bacon,  and  their 
daughter  Alice  became  the  wife  of  William  de  la  Poole, 
Earl  of  Suffolk,  afterwards  created  first  Duke  of  Nor- 
folk by  Henry  VI.  for  bringing  Princess  Margaret  from 
France. 

Both  Shakespeare  and  Drayton  make  Suffolk  the  lover 
of  Margaret'*  before  she  came  to  England  to  become  the 
Queen  of  Henry  VI.  It  has  been  said  Shakespeare  in 
the  following  lines  paid  a  compliment  to  the  Earl  of 
Essex: 

"'But  now  behold  in  the  quick  forge  and  working- 
house  of  thought 
How  London  doth  pour  out  her  citizens. 
The  Mavor  and  all  his  brethren  in  best  sort, 
Like  to  the  senators  of  antique  Eome, 
With  the  plebians  swarming  at  their  heels. 
Go  forth  and  fetch  their  conquering  Caesar  in: 
As,  by  a  lower  but  loving  likelihood,^ 
Were  now  the  general  of  our  gracious  Empress 
(As  in  good  time  he  may)  from  Ireland  coming. 
Bringing  rebellion  broached  on  his  sword, 
Plow  many  would  the  peaceful  city  quit. 
To  welcome  him!" 

Little  did  Shakespeare  dream  that  Essex  would  one 
day  put  the  city  to  that  test  wherein  he  found  it  wanting 
in  sympathy,  and  by  his  rash  act  loose  all  he  held  dear 
upon  earth.  His  enemies,  Robert  Cecil,  Lord  Cobham, 
the  Earl  of  Oxford,  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  checkmated 
him  at  every  move,  so  that  he  never  regained  the  fickle 
favor  of  Elizabeth. 

Wol.  I.  p.  28.       Paston  Letters  Ed.  hij  Gainliier,  Edinhurgh,  1910. 
^/.  Hen  VI.  A.  v.,  s  if. 
'Hen.  V.  A.  V. 

108 


In  the  same  drama  of  Henry  V.,  A.  iv.  S.  vii.,  I  think 
the  poet  paid  the  gallant  Karl  of  Essex  another  compli- 
ment out  of  the  mouth  of  Fluellen,  the  Welsh  knight, 
whom  King  Henry  accosts  on  the  field  after  the  battle  of 
Agincourt : 


"■o-" 


K.  Hen.  I  tell  thee  truly,  herald, 

I  know  not  if  the  day  be  ours,  or  no ; 
For  yet  a  manj^  of  your  horsemen  peer, 
And  gallop  o'er  the  field. 

Mont.  The  day  is  yours. 

K.  Hen.  Praised  be  God,  and  not  our  strength, 
for  it ! 
What  is  this  castle  call'd,  that  stands  hard  by? 

Mont.  They  call  it  Agincourt. 

K.  Hen.  Then  call  we  this  the  field  of  Agincourt, 
Fought  on  the  day  of  Crispin  Crispianus. 

Flu.  Your  grandfather  of  famous  memory,  an't 
please  your  majesty,  and  your  great-uncle  Ed- 
ward the  plack  prince  of  Wales,  as  I  have  read 
in  the  chronicles,  fought  a  most  prave  pattle  here 
in  France. 

K.  Hen.  They  did,  Fluellen. 

Flu.  Your  majesty  says  very  true.  If  your 
majesty  is  remembered  of  it,  the  Welshmen  did 
goot  service  in  a  garden  where  leeks  did  grow, 
w^earing  leeks  in  their  Monmouth  caps,  which  your 
majesty  knows,  to  this  hour  is  an  honourable 
padge  of  the  service ;  and,  I  do  believe,  your  majes- 
tay  takes  no  scorn  to  wear  the  leek  upon  Saint 
Tavy's  day. 

K.  Henry.  I  wear  it  for  a  memorable  honour : 
For  I  am  Welsh,  you  know,  good  countryman. 

Flu.  All  the  water  in  Wye  cannot  wash  your  ma- 
jesty's Welsh  plood  out  of  your  pody,  I  can  tell 
3'ou  that :  Got  pless  it,  and  preserve  it,  as  long  as 
it  pleases  his  grace,  and  his  majesty  too ! 

109 


The  Earl  of  Essex  descended  from  that  noble  and 
illustrious  Walter  Devereux,  who  was  created  Viscount 
of  Hereford  by  Henry  VI.  His  ancestors  owned,  among 
other  large  possessions  in  Wales,  the  splendid  castle  in 
Carmarthenshire.  The  love  Essex  bore  to  letters  greatly 
endeared  him  to  the  poets  of  his  day,  and  we  are  told  he 
saved  Spencer  from  starving  and  buried  the  poet  in 
Westminster  Abbey  when  neglected  by  all  the  great  ones 
he  had  immortalized  with  his  pen — even  by  the  Queen 
herself. 

In  Henry  V.  the  Welsh  knight,  Fluellen,  has  the  ut- 
most contempt  for  Sir  John  Falstaff.  For  the  wrong 
the  real  Sir  John  Fastolf  did  his  kinsman  and  ward, 
Thomas  Fastolf,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Paston  Let- 
ters edited  bv  Gairdner.  Mr.  Dawson  Turner,  who  is 
very  tender  of  the  memory  of  Fastolf,^  says: 

''Sir  John,  with  Lord  Talbot  and  Lord  Scales, 
fled  at  the  battle  of  Patay;  and  this  circumstance 
appears  to  furnish  the  only  actual  point  of  simi- 
larity between  the  imaginary  Falstaff  of  the  dra- 
matist and  the  real  individual  pourtrayed  in  his- 
tory. Towards  the  conclusion  of  the  first  part  of 
his  Henry  the  Sixth,  Shakespeare  presents  to  the 
spectator  that  youthful  monarch  surrounded  by 
his  nobles,  receiving  the  homage  of  the  governor 
of  Paris;  while  Falstaff  presses  forward,  hot  with 
haste,  eager  to  tender  his  allegiance.  The  Lord 
Talbot,  between  whom  and  the  knight  there  seems 
to  have  been  a  rivalry,  not  unmixed  with  personal 
animosity,  and  who  was  probably  not  sorry  for 
the  opportunity  publicly  to  fix  upon  his  name  the 
disgrace  of  the  defeat  at  Patay,  bursts  on  this 
occasion  into  the  following  bitter  taunts,  which 
even  the  presence  of  the  sovereign  had  not  the 
power  to  restrain." 

' '  Shame  on  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  thee ! 

"Sketch  of  the  History  of  Coistcr  Castle,  p.  28.    Lond.  18G2. 

110 


''I  vow'd,  base  kniglit,  when  I  did  meet  thee  next, - 
"To  tear  the  garter  from  thy  craven  leg  {pluching 

it  off) 
"AVhidi  I  have  done,  because  unworthily 
'^Thou  wast  installed  in  that  high  degree: — 
''Pardon  me,  princely  Henry,  and  the  rest, 
"This  dastard,  at  the  battle  of  Patay, 
"When  but  in  all  I  was  six  thousand  strong, 
"And  that  the  French  were  almost  ten  to  one, — 
"Before  we  met,  or  that  a  stroke  was  given, 
"Like  to  a  trusty  squire,  did  run  away; 
"In  which  assault  we  lost  twelve  hundred  men: 
"Myself,  with  divers  gentlemen  beside, 
"Were  there  surprised  and  taken  prisoners. 
"Then,  judge,  great  lords,  if  I  have  done  amiss ; 
"Or  whether  that  such  cowards  ought  to  wear 
"This  ornament  of  knighthood, — yea,  or  no. 

"A'.  Hen.  Stain  to  thy  countrymen!  thou  hear'st 
thy  doom! 
"Be  packing,  therefore,  thou  that  wast  a  knight: 
"Henceforth  we  banish  thee  on  pain  of  death." 

{Exit  Falstaff.) 
Mr.  Turner  continues: 

"It  appears  to  be  upon  the  authority  of  Mon- 
strelet  alone  that  Shakespeare  relies  for  the  sup- 
posed fact  of  Sir  John  Fastolfe's  having  been 
stripped  of  the  Garter.  So  foul  a  stain  upon  his 
character,  it  may  safely  be  said,  had  no  existence, 
excepting  in  the  pages  of  the  chronicler,  supported 
perhaps  by  the  rumours  of  those  who  had  felt  the 
weight  of  his  arm.  Anstis,  the  historian  of  the 
order,  who  searched  the  records  for  the  express 
purpose,  assures  his  readers  there  is  no  entry  of 
Fastolfe's  name  in  the  Black  Booh,  which  com- 
memorates similar  degradations ;  and,  what  is  still 
more  conclusive,  regular  mention  is  made  of  his 
attendance  at  the  Feasts  of  St.  George  and  the 
Chapters  of  the  Order  till  the  period  of  his  de- 
cease.^" 

ybid,  p.  20. 

Ill 


Again  Mr.  Turner: 

'  *  It  were  injustice  not  to  quote,  by  way  of  illus- 
trating the  feeling  that  existed  even  in  the  Eliza- 
bethan age,  the  glowing  sentences  with  which  old 
Fuller  sums  up  his  account  of  him:  'To  avouch 
him'  (says  the  generous  biographer)  'by  many 
arguments  valiant,  is  to  maintain  that  the  sun  is 
bright ;  though  the  stage  hath  been  over-bold  with 
his  memory,  making  him  a  Thrasonical  Puff  and 
emblem  of  Mock  valour.  True  it  is,  Sir  John  Old- 
castle  did  first  bear  the  brunt  of  the  one,  being 
made  the  make-sport  in  all  plays  for  a  coward. 
It  is  easily  known  out  of  what  purse  this  black 
peny  came;  the  papists  railing  on  him  for  a 
heretic,  and  therefore  he  must  also  be  a  coward; 
though  indeed  he  was  a  man  of  arms,  every  inch 
of  him,  and  as  valiant  as  any  of  his  age.  Now,  as 
I  am  glad  that  Sir  John  Oldcastle  is  put  out,  so  I 
am  sorry  that  Sir  John  Fastolfe  is  put  in.  Nor 
is  our  comedian  excusable  by  some  alteration  of 
>  his  name,  writing  him  Sir  John  Falstafe  (and  mak- 
ing him  the  property  of  pleasure  for  King  Henry 
the  Fifth  to  abuse),  seeing  the  vicinity  of  sounds 
entrench  on  the  memory  of  that  worthy  knight  of 
their  name.'  "^ 

Honest  Fuller  had  "not  read  tlie  Paston  Letters  nor 
had  he,  like  the  poet,  entered  into  the  "heart  of  elder" 
of  Sir  John  Fastolf.  Time  sustains  Shakespeare's 
verdict. 

Of  Thomas  Fastolf,  the  unlucky  ward  of  Sir  John, 

Dawson  Turner  writes : 

"At  the  same  advanced  period  of  his  life,  but 
still  evidently  broken  by  years.  Sir  John  presses 
his  correspondent  to  assist  him  in  obtaining  the 
wardship  of  a  minor.  This  was  commonly  an 
object  with  men  of  consequence  in  those  days ;  for 
not  only  did  it  throw  power  into  their  hands,  by 

*IUd.,  p.  34. 

112 


placing-  the  management  of  estates  imder  their 
control,  but  it  likewise  gave  them  the  authority  to 
dispose  of  their  wards  in  marriage,  to  whom  and 
on  what  terms  they  thought  proper.  The  letter  in 
which  the  request  is  urged  presents  a  curious  il- 
lustration, both  of  the  times  and  of  the  writer's 
personal  character :  it  exhibits  the  steadiness  with 
which  he  kept  his  object  in  view,  and  the  address 
he  employed  in  the  pursuit  of  it.  John  Paston  is 
entreated  to  induce  the  sheriff  to  assist  in  for- 
warding the  matter,  and  is  himself  urged  to  'take 
it  tenderly  to  heart.'  The  more  effectually  to 
quicken  his  zeal,  a  hint  is  thrown  out  that  a  mar- 
riage should  in  due  time  take  place  between  the 
intended  ward  and  some  one  of  Paston 's  daugh- 
ters. The  proposed  match,  which  indeed  never 
was  carried  into  effect,  is  said,  in  this  instance, 
to  have  been  altogether  a  suitable  one;  but  it  is 
plain  that  the  inclination  of  the  parties  would  not 
have  been  consulted,  nor,  in  cases  of  that  nature, 
was  it  customary  to  allow  it  to  enter  the  least  into 
consideration.  The  voung  man,  whose  future  fate 
formed  the  subject  of  the  correspondence,  is  dis- 
covered by  the  endorsement  of  the  letter  to  have 
been  'Thomas  Fastolfe',^  son  and  heir  of  Nicholas 
Fastolfe,  of  Ipswich,  and  cousin  to  the  knight." 

"He  was  at  that  time  ahout  ten  vears  old;  as 
appears  from  a  subsequent  letter  written  by  his 
mother,^°  in  which  she  complains  that  his  guar- 
dians endeavoured  to  represent  her  son  as  younger 
than  he  actually  was,  in  order  the  longer  to  retain 
possession  of  his  estate.  Four  years,  at  the  ut- 
most, comprehend  the  time  during  which  he  re- 
.  mained  under  Sir  John  Fastolfe 's  guardianship; 
but  he  did  really  become  a  member  of  his  house- 
hold, as  is  made  evident  by  the  mention  of  'Thomas 
Fastolfe,  is  chamboure,'  in  the  inventory  of  the 

^He  was  son  and  heir  of  John  Fastolf  of  Coivhaicc.     Paston  Letters, 
Vols.  I,  II,  III,  and  Introduction   Gairdner  Ed.    1910. 

^"Paston  Letters,  Vol  II,  p.  03. 

113 


furniture  and  effects  left  at  Caister  npon  the 
knight's  decease.  From  the  same  document  it  also 
appears  that  Sir  John  did  not  spoil  his  little  kins- 
man and  ward  by  over-indulgence  in  luxuries: 
'j  fedderbed,  j  bolster,  j  payre  of  schetys,  jj  blan- 
kettis,  j  rede  coverlet,  j  coverying  of  worstet,  and 
j  testour,'  are  the  only  articles  enumerated  in  the 
catalogue  of  the  contents  of  his  apartment.  But 
then,  as  if  by  way  of  compensation,  and  perhaps 
to  keep  alive  his  pride  of  ancestry,  it  is  expressly 
said  that  the  'arms  of  Fastolfe,  embroidered  on 
rede  say,'  are  placed  at  the  'seloure,'  or  head  of 
his  bed.  "11 

The  present  Rector  of  Caister,  Great  Yarmouth,  in  an 
admirable  essay^-  on  Sir  John  Fastolf,  sums  up  twelve 
points  of  resemblance  between  the  true  knight  and  Fal- 
staft".    We  give  one: 

"Language  has  been  strained  to  its  utmost  to 

express   Falstaff's  grossness  of  body 

Now  in  the  matter  of  this  amplitude  of  form  there 
appears  to  be  curious  corrol)oration  of  identity  be- 
tween the  false  knight  and  the  true.  Not  only  does 
a  tradition  still  linger  on  in  Caister  of  the  brawn 
of  the  first  lord  of  its  castle,  but  an  old  print  in 
the  Free  Library  of  Great  Yarmouth  tends  to  con- 
firm it." 

Of  the  jewels,  gold  and  silver,  money  and  plate,  ward- 
robe and  furniture  which  belonged  to  Fastolf  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  see  the  Inventory.!^  Its  editor,  Mr.  Arnot, 
says:  ''I  cannot  conclude  this  summary  without  advert- 
ing to  what  may  appear  a  remarkable  omission.  I 
allude  to  the  absence  of  books  of  every  description." 

William  of  Worcester,  the  scholarly  secretary  of  Sir 
John  Fastolf,  hungered  after  knowledge  and  was  in  Lon- 

'Ubld.,  PI).  38-39. 

"."27je  Case  of  Sir  John  Falstof."  By  David  Wallace  Duthie.  Lond. 
1907. 

^^Archacologie  xx.ii,  pp.  232-280. 

114 


don  when  Henry  Windsor,  his  friend,  wrote  this  to  Sir 
John  Paston  in  1458 : 


i  i ' 


I  may  sey  to  you  that  William  hath  goon  to 
scole,  to  a  Lumbard  called  Karoll  Giles,  to  lern 
and  to  be  red  in  poetre  or  els  in  Frensli;  for  he 
hath  byn  with  the  same  Caroll  every  dey  ij.  times 
or  iij.,  and  hath  bought  divers  boks  of  hym,  for 
the  which,  as  I  suppose  he  hath  put  hymself  in 
daunger  to  the  same  Karoll.  I  made  a  mocion  to 
William  to  have  knoen  part  of  his  besines,  and 
he  answered  and  seid  that  he  wold  be  as  glad  and 
as  feyn  of  a  good  boke  of  Frensh  or  of  poetre  as 
my  Master  Fastolf  wold  be  to  purchace  a  faire* 
manoir;  and  therby  I  understand  he  list  not  to 
be  commynd  with  all  in  such  matiers." 

To  this  learned  gentleman.  Sir  John  Fastolf  paid  a 
salary  of  five  shillings  a  year !  A  manuscript  in  the  Brit- 
ish Museum,  supposed  to  be  written  by  William  Wyrces- 
tre  in  praise  of  Millicent,  wife  of  Sir  John  Fastolf,  ends 
thus:  "John  Fastolf  which  was  a  valiant  Knyght  and 
sharp  in  bateylle  ....  Iff  it  were  ryght  that  any- 
thin  should  ascend  unto  the  high  Celestiall  place  for  his 
own  desert  and  merytt,  doubtless  it  should  be  this  gen- 
eration."^'* 

W^e  agree  with  him,  for  Time  has  taken  the  lustre  from 
the  worldly  Sir  John  Fastolf  and  left : 

''None  so  poor  to  do  him  reverence." 

After  enumerating  Fastolf 's  belongings,  Dawson  Tur- 
ner concludes : 

"Such,  in  lands  and  goods,  were  the  possessions 
with  which  John  Paston,  eldest  son  of  Sir  William, 
found  himself  on  a  sudden  enriched.  Still,  be- 
tween the  stretching  out  of  a  hand  to  grasp  them, 
and  the  actually  having  of  them  in  firm  hold,  the 
new  heir  was  soon  made  conscious  there  was  a 

"Hist.  Castle  Coiiihc  l)ij  G.  Poitlet  Scrape.     1852.     ■      • 

llo 


wide  difference.  Within  one  week  after  Sir  John 
Fastolfe's  death,  and  well  nigh  before  his  body 
was  committed  to  the  tomb,  it  appears  that  for- 
midable pretenders  to  the  property  had  already 


arisen."  ^^ 


Mr.  Poulet  Scrope  observes:  *' Certainly  no  blood  rela- 
tionship seems  to  have  existed  between  them."^^ 

Hoping  the  reader  will  not  be  too  much  cloyed  with  the 
real  Fastolf,  I  venture  to  say  not  one  of  his  followers — 
not  even  John  Paston,  his  heir, — would  have  paid  to  his 
memory  that  pathetic  tribute  which,  after  the  death  of  his 
master  Falstaff,  Bardolph  utters  when 'he  says: 
''Would  I  were  ivith  him,  wheresome'er  he  is,  either  in 
heaven  or  in  hell.'' 

In  II  Henry  IV.,  2, 1,  where  the  hostess  of  the  Dolphin 
Inn  has  Sir  John  Falstaff  arrested  for  debt,  the  reader 
will  see  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  shows  little  respect  to 
Sir  John: 

Enter  the  Lord  Chief  Justice,  attended. 
Ch.  Just.  What  is  the  matter?  keep  the  peace 
here,  hoi 

Host.  Good  my  lord,  be  good  to  me !  I  beseech 
you,  stand  to  me! 

Ch.  Just.  How  now,  Sir  John!  what,  are  you 
brawling  here  ? 
Doth  this  become  your  place,  your  time,  and  busi- 
ness? 
You  should  liave  been  well  on  your  way  to  York. — 
Stand   from  him,   fellow:  wherefore  hang'st  on 
him? 
Host.  0!  my  most  worshipful  lord,  an't  please 
your  grace,  I  am  a  poor  widow  of  Eastcheap,  and 
he  is  arrested  at  my  suit. 
Ch.  Just.  For  what  sum? 

Host.  It  is  more  than  for  some,  my  lord ;  it  is  for 
all,  all  I  have.  He  hath  eaten  me  out  of  house  and 
home.     ... 

^Ibid.,  p.  77. 

^"Hist.  of  Castle  ComJje,  p.  185. 

116 


Cli.  Just,  llow  comes  this,  Sir  John? — Fie!  what 
man  of  good  temper  would  endure  this  tempest  of 
exdamation? — Are  you  not  ashamed  to  enforce  a 
poor  widow  to  so  rough  a  course  to  come  by  her 
own  ? 

Fal.  "What  is  the  gross  sum  that  I  owe  thee? 

Host.  Marry,  if  thou  wert  an  honest  man,  tliyself, 
and  the  money  too.  Thou  didst  swear  to  me  upon 
a  parcel-gilt  goblet,  sitting  in  my  Doli:)hin-chamber, 
at  the  round  table,  by  a  sea-coal  fire,  upon  Wednes- 
day in  AVhitsun  week,  when  the  j^rince  broke  they 
head     ,     .     . 

Fal.  My  lord,  this  is  a  poor  mad  soul ;     .     .     . 

CJi.  Just.  Sir  John,  Sir  John,  I  am  well  acquaint- 
ed with  your  manner  of  wrenching  the  true  cause 
the  false  way.  It  is  not  a  confident  brow,  nor  the 
throng  of  words  that  come  with  such  more  than 
impudent  sauciness  from  you,  can  thrust  me  from  a 
level  consideration;  you  have,  as  it  appears  to  me, 
practised  uj^on  the  easj-yielding  spirit  of  this 
woman,  and  made  her  serve  3^our  uses  .  .  . 
Host.    Yes,  in  troth,  my  lord. 

Ch.  Just.  Pr'ythee,  peace. — Pay  her  the  debt  you 
owe  her,  and  unpay  the  villainy  you  have  done  with 
her:  the  one  you  may  do  with  sterling  nionej',  and 
the  other  with  current  repentance. 

Fal.  My  lord,  I  will  not  undergo  this  sneap  with- 
out reply.  You  call  honourable  boldness,  impudent 
sauciness;  if  a  man  will  make  court'sy,  and  say 
nothing,  he  is  virtuous.  No,  my  lord,  my  humble 
duty  remember'd,  I  will  not  be  your  suitor:  I  say 
to  you,  I  do  desire  deliverance  from  these  officers, 
being  upon  hasty  employment  in  the  king's  affairs. 

Ch.  Just.     You  speak  as  having  power  to  do 
wrong;  but  answer  in  the  effect  of  your  reputation, 
and  satisfy  the  poor  woman. 
In  his  dealings  with  widows  and  orphans  the  real  Fa?- 

117 


tolf  had  no  scruples  of  conscience.  Those  acquainted  with 
his  treatment  of  the  widowed  mother  of  liis  cousin  and 
ward,  Thomas  Fastolfe,  discern  this  trait;  and  his  un- 
kind usage  of  Stephen  Scrope,"  his  stepson,  whom  he 
kept  out  of  his  inheritance  for  fifty  j-ears  shows  his  du- 
plicity. In  A  ^^hort  View  of  English  History,  1723,  the 
author,  Bevil  Higgons,  says  Sir  John  Fastolf  had  "been 
ridiculed  and  misrepresented  by  the  pen  of  a  certain  poet 
.  .  .  for  no  other  reason  but  that  some  of  his  pos- 
terity had  disobliged  Mr.  Shakespeare."  It  would  be 
gratifying  to  learn  where  Higgons  got  his  tradition. 

Arthur  Dandy,  the  Steward  of  Gray's  Inn,  who  acted 
the  Bishop  of  St.  Giles  in  the  Fields  in  the  Gesta  Graijorum 
was  related  to  the  Bacons  through  the  Falstaff's.  The 
Poet,  Francis  Quarles,  descended  from  these  families.  I 
find  in  the  Visitation  of  Essex,  1612,  p.  273,  Edmund 
Quarles  of  Norwich  in  Com  Norfolk  Gentleman,  married 
Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  Daundie  of  Crettingham  in  Com 
Suffolk,  Esq.,  by  his  wife,  daughter  of  Fastolphe  of  Pettow^ 
Esq.     Shakespeare  in  2  Hen.,  VI,  iv,  says : 

"Leave  me  at  the  "White  Hart  in  Southwork."^ 

In  the  Gesta  Grayo rum  Artlmr  Dandy"^  personated  "the 
Bishop  of  St.  Giles  in  the  Fields,"  and  in  the  Pension 
Book  are  the  following  interesting  items  coucerning  hiii? 
and  a  White  Hart  Inn : 

''Jack  Cade,  the  rebel,  lodged  here,  when  Sir  John  Fastolf  took  refuge 
in  the  Tower,  to  escape  the  rabble. 

'This  gentleman's  father  married  Anne  Fastolfe,  daughter  of  John 
Fastolfe  of  Pettaw  Co.,  Suffolk.  Her  brother,  Thomas  Fastolf,  married 
Francis  Bacon's  kinswoman,  Alice  Bacon. 

"This  gentleman's  father.  Sir  Stephen  Scrope.  bequeathed  to  his 
"dearest  son  and  heir,  Stephen,  two  silver  basins  with  two  silver  water- 
stoups.  twelve  silver  dishes,  one  gilt  cup  with  a  cover,  two  silver  cups 
with  covers,  a  set  of  hangings  and  a  bed  embroidered  with  poplers. 
with  all  its  furniture,  a  service  of  table  linen,  &c.,  and  a  long  sword 
formerly  belonging  to  King  Edward  (the  Third),  and  bequeathed  to  him 
l»y  his  father."  It  does  not  appear  that  Stephen  Scrope  ever  recovered 
possession  of  these  heir-looms.  They  no  doubt  went  to  swell  the  pro- 
digious mass  of  valuables  that  were  accumulated  by  Fastolf.  and  found 
on  his  decease  in  his  town  and  country  houses,  of  which  Mr.  Amyot  has^ 
printed  the  inventory  in  the  Archtelogia,  Vol.  xxi." 

118 


1583  Mr.  Arthur  Dandy  to  be  paid  three  pounds  in 
lieu  of  fourteen  years  arrearage  of  rent  for  the 
acre  of  land  in  Bernerd's  Close  by  sucli  as  have 
occupied  the  said  acre;  and  from  henceforth  Ber- 
nerd's  tenant  is  to  pay  fifteen  shillings  a  year  dur- 
ing the  life  of  Mr.  Dandy,  whereof  five  shillings 
yearly  is  to  be  paid  to  the  House.  Mr.  Dandy  to 
have  the  piece  of  ground  inclosed  with  the  mud 
wall  behind  the  AVhite  Hart  at  a  rent  of  xx^  per 
annum,  and  he  is  to  be  paid  the  arrears  of  rent  for 
the  last  twenty-eight  years,    p.  57. 

1597  PENSION  25th  April,  39  Eliz :  Present :— BRO- 
GRAVE,  HESKETH,  ANGER,  BACON, 
STANHOPE,  HALES,  POOLEY,  FULLER, 
PELHAM,  LANY,  NIGHTINGALE,  BARKER, 
PEPPER  and  BRACKEN. 

"The  copye  of  a  leas  shewed  forth  by  Mr.  Med- 
calf  by  well  he  pretendeth  title  to  an  Acre  of 
Ground  opposite  to  ye  Whight  Hart. 

Mr.  Fletcher  notes:  "In  Bentley's  Book  ...  it  is  re- 
corded that  the  light-wardens  of  St.  Andrew's  received 
yearly  a  rent  of  five  shillings  for  an  acre  of  ground  be- 
hind the  White  Hart,  called  the  Church  acre,  in  and 
before  the  20th  year  of  Edward  IV." 

And  at  Pension  4th,  Nov :  28  Eliza :  1586,  it  was : 

"Ordered  that  Arthur  Dandy  shall  yerelie  have 
during  his  lyft'  five  marks  for  a  gowne  &  a  lyverie 
of  the  howsse  in  respect  of  his  ancyent  service 
when  he  was  Steward  of  the  House  and  of  his 
alliance  to  the  Lord  Keeper  that  dead  is."^ 
The  Lord  Keeper  was  Francis  Bacon's  father. 

*Ibicl.,  p.  74. 

119 


YOU  WOULD  PLUCK  OUT  THE  HEAET  OF  MY 

MYSTERY 

That  til  ere  was  an  earlier  play  of  Hamlet,  than  Shake- 
si)eare's  remains  an  open  question.  Collier,  the  forger  of  so 
many  Shakespeare  ''facts,"  harped  much  upon  an  older  play 
of  Hamlet.  Thomas  Nashe  was  the  first  to  mention  Hamlet 
in  a  preface  to  Greene's  '^^lenaphon'  in  1589  as  follows: 

''It  is  a  common  practise  now  a  dales,  amongst  a 
sort  of  shifting  companions,  that  runne  through 
euerv  art  and  thriue  bv  none  to  leaue  the  trade  of 
'Nouerint,  whereto  they  were  borne,  and  busie  them- 
selues  with  the  indeuors  of  art,  that  could  scarcelie 
latinise  their  neck-verse  if  they  should  haue  neede; 
yet  English  Seneca  read  by  candle-light  yeeldes 
manie  good  sentences  as  'hloud  is  a  hcgger^  and  so 
forth  :  and  if  von  intreate  him  faire  in  a  frostie  morn- 
ing,  he  will  affoord  you  whole  Hamlets,  I  should  say 
liandfulls  of  tragical  speeches.  But  o  grief e !  tempiis 
edax  rerum;  what's  that  will  last  alwaies?  The  sea 
exhaled  by  droppes  will  in  continuance  be  drie,  and 
Seneca  let  blond  line  by  line,  and  page  by  page,  at 
length  must  needes  die  tq  our  stage." 

Nashe  in  this  tirade  aims  at  more  than  one  man,  for  his 
Epistle  is  written  in  a  plural  sense. 

When  these  lines  were  penned,  Francis  Bacon  was  a 
struggling  young  lawyer  at  Gray's  Inn.  (1589.)  It  may  be 
said  tliat  Bacon  Avas  born  to  the  law,  as  his  father  was  a 
great  law^yer  before  him.  At  any  rate  if  my  theory  is  worth 
while,  young  Francis  Bacon  could  have  aided  Shakespeare 
in  the  use  of  the  legal  terms  we  find  so  plentifully  sprinkled 
through  Hamlet,  and  as  Nashe  gibed  at  more  than  one,  his 
lines:  'could  scarcelie  latinise  their  neck-verse  if  they 
should  have  neede;  reminds  us  of  Ben   Jonson's  'small 

120 


latin,'  and  miiilit  be  applied  to  the  youth  who  only  two 
years  before  arrived  in  London  from  Stratford.  That  Xashe 
referred  to  Shakespeare's  JInnilet  and  none  other,  I  firndy 
believe.  Take  hi.s:  'bloud  is  a  begger'  and  compare  it 
with  the  noble  Hamlef/s: 

"Begger  that  I  am,  I  am  even  poor  in  thanks." 

Nashe  continues. 

"And  if  you  intreat  him  faire  in  a  frosty  morning,  he 
will  afforde  you  whole  Hamlets,  I  should  say  hand  fulls  of 
tragicall  speeches." 

Intreat  Avhom  fair?  And  why  on  a  frosty  morning?  Did 
Nashe  refer  to  the  character  of  the  Sentinal  Francisco,  who 
only  appears  once  in  the  play  of  Hamlet,  and  speaks  but 
fifty-five  words? 

I  have  reason  to  think  so,  for  it  is  he  who  says : 
'     i     '     "  'Tis  bitter  cold,  and  I  am  sick  at  heart." 

Pathetic  words,  which  seem  to  prepare  the  hearers  for 
a  tragic  ending  as  the  reader  may  jndge : 

ACT  I. 

SCENE  I.— Elsinore.  A  Platform  hefore  the  Castle 
Francisco  oh  his  Post.    Enter  to  him  Bernardo. 

Bernardo. 
Who's  there? 

Fran.  '^'^J,  answer  me:  stand,  and  unfold 

Yourself. 

Ber.        Long  live  the  king ! 

Fran.  Bernardo? 

Ber.  He. 

Fran.  You  come  most  carefull}^  upon  your  hour. 

Ber.  'Tis  now  struck  twelve ;  get  thee  to  bed,  Fran- 
cisco. 

Fran.  For  this  relief,  much  thanks  :  'tis  bitter  cold, 
And  I  am  sick  at  heart. 

Ber.  Have  you  had  quiet  guard? 

Fran.  Not  a  mouse  stirring, 

121 


Ber.  Well,  good  night. 
If  you  do  meet  Horatio  and  Marcellus, 
The  rivals  of  my  watch,  bid  them  make  haste. 

Enter  Horatio  and  Marcellus. 

Fran.  I  think,  I  hear  them. — Stand,  ho!  Who  is 

there? 
Hor.  Friends  to  this  ground. 
Mar.  And  liegemen  to  the  Dane. 

Fran.  Give  you  good  night. 

Mai\  O,  farewell,  honest  soldier: 

Who  hath  reliev'd  you? 
Fran.  Bernardo  hath  my  place. 

Give  you  good  night.  [Exit  Francisco. 

Francisco  does  not  appear  again,  but  it  is  likely  his: 
^  'Tis  bitter  cold'  gave  Nashe  his  'frost}/  morning.'  The  word 
frost  is  not  mentioned  in  the  play. 

In  Act  I,  scene  4,  Hamlet  says: 

^The  air  bites  shrewdly,   'it  is  very  cold'   and 
Horatio  replies : 

'It  is  a  nipping  and  an  eager  air.' 

It  seems  to  me  Nashe  who  was  very  sensitive  to  climatic 
influences,  could  not  forget  the  impression  the  first  act  of 
Hamlet  made  ujDon  him.  He  died  of  consumption  and  was 
always  delicate  I  imagine.  His  preface  to  'MenapJion/  was 
his  first  publication.  It  seems  to  me  a  strange  coincidence 
that  Greene  should  have  dedicated  'Menaphon-  to  a  Lady 
Hales — because  the  grave-yard  scene  in  Hamlet  has  long 
been  regarded  as  a  parody  on  the  case  of  the  suicide  of  Sir" 
James  Hales,  an  honorable  Judge  of  Common  Pleas  and  a 
member  of  Gray's  Inn.  This  celebrated  case  Hales  v.  Petit 
(Plowden  p.  253)  must  have  created  much  tragic-mirth 
among  the  laAAyers  of  Gray's  Inn. 

Lord  Chief  Justice   Dyer    (related  to   the   Bacon's   by 

122 


inarriago)  helped  to  coiidnct  the  case.     One  of  tlie  things 
the  Conrt  said  was: 

^'Sir  James  Hales  was  dead,  and  how  came  he  to 
his  death?  It  may  be  answered  by  drownin.i;' — and 
who  drowned  him?  Sir  James  Hales — and  Avhen  did 
he  drown  him?  In  his  life  time.  So  that  Sir  James 
Hales  beinji'  alive  cansed  Sir  James  Hales  to  die  I 
and  the  act  of  the  living  man  was  the  death  of  the 
dead  man,  and  then  for  this  offence  it  is  reasonable 
to  pnnish  the  living  man  who  committed  the  offence 
and  not  the  dead  man.  But  how  can  he  be  said  to 
be  punished  alive  when  the  punishment  comes  after 
death." 

This  case  from  Tlowdon  was  written  in  old  Norman  law 
French,  and  Malone  tells  us  it  was  not  translated  into 
English  during  Shakespeare's  life.  Francis  Bacon,  a  legal 
light  at  that  time,  was  familiar  with  this  work  of  Plow- 
don's,  and  could  have  aided  the  Dramatist,  who  saw  in  it 
comedy  enough  for  the  following  scene : 

Act  5,  Scene  I. 

1st  Grave  D. — Is  she  to  be  buried  in  Christian 
burial  that  wilfully  seeks  her  OAvn  salvation? 

2d  Grave  D. — I  tell  thee  she  is;  therefore  make 
her  grave  straight ;  the  crowner  hath  set  on  her,  and 
finds  it  christian  burial. 

1st  Grave  D. — How  can  that  be,  unless  she 
drowned  herself  in  her  own  defense? 

2d  Grave  D. — Why,  'tis  found  so. 

1st  Grave  D. — It  must  be  se  offendendo,  it  can- 
not be  else.  For  here  lies  the  point:  if  I  drown 
myself  wittingly,  it  argues  an  act ;  and  an  act  hath 
three  branches;  it  is,  to  act,  to  do,  to  perform. 
Argal,  she  drowned  herself  wittingly. 

2d  Grave  D. — Nay,  but  hear  you,,  goodman  de- 
liver. .  ) 

123 


1st  Guave  D. — Give  me  leave.  Here  lies  the  water ; 
good ;  here  stands  the  mau ;  good.  If  the  man  go  to 
this  water,  and  drown  himself,  it  is,  will  he,  nil  he, 
he  goes;  mark  you  that:  but,  if  the  water  comes  to 
him,  and  drown  him,  he  drowns  not  himself.  Argal, 
he  that  is  not  guilty  of  his  own  death,  shortens  not 
his  own  life. 

2d  Grave  D. — But  is  this  law? 

1st  Grave  D. — Ay,  marry  is't,  crowner's  'quest 
law. 

2d  Grave  D.— Will  you  ha'  the  truth  on't?  If 
this  had  not  been  a  gentleAvoman,  she  should  have 
been  buried  out  of  christian  burial. 

It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  Hamlet,  the  most  extra- 
ordinary, if  not  the  greatest  creation  of  Shakespeare,  could 
have  been  written  by  a  youth  but  two  years  from  his  native 
Stratford.  Scholars  cannot  marry  this  youth  to  the  Ha  m  let 
of  1589,  and  have  conjured  up  an  Ur-Hamlet  it  seems  to 
me,  to  account  for  the  allusions  of  Nashe,  and  Lodge. 

Sir  Sidney  Lee  in  his  'Life  of  Shakespeare^  (Ed.  1916, 
p.  354),  says:  .  .  .  "Tom  Nashe  credited  a  writer  whom 
he  called  'English  Seneca'  with  the  capacity  of  penning 
'whole  Hamlets/  I  should  say  handfuls  of  tragical 
speeches.' " 

Is  not  this  interpretation  misconstrued?  Did  not  Nashe 
have  in  mind  when  he  wrote:  'English  Seneca  read  by 
candle  light'  a  translation  of  Seneca,  rather  than  an  indi- 
vidual? This  would  carry  out  Nashe's  former  implication 
that  one  of  the  men  he  gibed  at  'could  scarcely  latinise  [his] 
neck-verse  if  [he]  should  have  need'  i.  e.  that  he  was  not 
capable  of  reading  Seneca  in  the  original. 

Thomas  Powell  in  his  'Attorney's  Academy'  calls  Fran- 
cis, Lord  Verulem,  and  Viscount  St.  Albans  :  'Good  Seneca.' 

A  Thomas  Powell  printed  for  George  Bucke,  Jasper  Hey- 
wood's  translation  of  Senecas  'The  Sixth  Tragedie'  which 
was  dedicated  to  the  Queen.    Heywood  also  dedicated  some 

124 


of  his  Seneca  tniu.slatioii.s  lo  Sir  Tlionia.s  llcDiieage,  Bacon's 
good  friend. 

In  his  transhition  of  'Tliijc^str-s'  Jasper  lleywood  added 
a  scene  to  the  fifth  act  "wherein  the  hero,  in  a  soliloq}^ 
huneuts  liis  own  misfortunes,  and  calls  for  judgment  and 
vengeance  on  Atreus."  Hecuba  is  portrayed  in  the  first 
act,  and  there  is  a  ghost  in  the  tragedy. 

I  am  inclined  to  believe  Nashe  was  thinking  of  this  very 
play  when  he  referred  to  'English  Seneca.' 

It  was  said  on  the  title  page  of  the  first  Quarto  Hamlet, 
1G03,  that  it  was  acted  ''in  the  two  Universities  of  Cam- 
bridge and  Oxford."  It  will  be  observed  that  Nashe  dedi- 
cates his  Epistle  hefore  'MeHaphon-  "to  the  gentlemen  Stu- 
dents of  both  Universities."  If  they  had  seen  the  play  they 
could  better  appreciate  Nashe's  satire. 

Did  not  the  many  legal  terms  in  Hamlet  lead  Nashe  to 
infer  that  the  author  was  leaving  the  "trade  of  Norverint" 
to  "busy"  himself  "wnth  the  endeavors  of  art"?  HamleVs 
renowned  speech  over  the  supposed  lawyers  skull,  may  have 
moved  Nashe  to  this  criticism. 

Ham.  There's  another :  why  may  not  that  be  the 
skull  of  a  lawyer?  AY  here  be  his  quiddits  now,  his 
quillets,  his  cases,  his  tenures,  and  his  tricks?  why 
does  he  suffer  this  rude  knave  now  to  knock  him 
about  the  sconce  with  a  dirty  shovel,  and  will  not 
tell  him  of  his  action  of  battery?  Humph  !  This  fel- 
low might  be  in  's  time  a  great  buyer  of  laud,  with 
his  statutes,  his  recognizances,  his  fines,  his  double 
vouchers,  his  recoveries:  is  this  the  fine  of  his  fines,  • 
and  the  recovery  of  his  recoveries,  to  have  his  fine 
pate  full  of  fine  dirt?  will  his  vouchers  vouch  him 
no  more  of  his  purchases,  and  double  ones  too,  than 
the  length  and  breadth  of  a  pair  of  indentures? 
The  very  conveyances  of  his  lands  will  hardly  lie 
in  this  box,  and  must  the  inheritor  himself  have 
no  more?  ha? 

125 


Eor.  Not  a  jot  more,  my  lord. 

Ham.  Is  not  parchment  made  of  sheep-skins? 

Hor.  Ay,  my  lord,  and  of  calf-skins  too. 

In  Nashe's  Works,  Ed.  by  McKerron,  Vol.  1  p.  342,  Nash 
again  refers  to  a  Noverint,  whom  he  dubbs  an  "unskillful 
pen-man." 

After  Bacon's  friends,  the  Carey's  and  Bishop  Whitgift, 
befriended  him,  Nashe  seems  to  have  regretted  some  things 
he  had  written  and  says :  "For  neither  Avas  I  Greenes  com- 
panion only  more  than  for  a  carouse  or  two,"  and  as  he 
recalls  the  trouble  'The  Isle  of  Dog's'  put  him  to,  he  says: 

"A  man  mav  not  talk  of  a  dog,  but  it  is  surmised 
he  aims  at  him  that  giveth  the  dog  in  his  crest." 

'The  Isle  of  Dogs'  is  mentioned  in  the  Northumberland 
Ms.  as  well  as  Thomas  Nashe's  name. 

Of  an  earlier  jffrt»?7eit  than  Shakespeare's,  Charles  Knight 
said : 

"They  have  taken  conjecture  for  proof,  not  a  title 
of  distinct  evidence  exists  to  show  that  there  was  any 
other  play  of  Hamlet  but  that  of  Shakespeare  and 
all  the  collateral  evidence  upon  which  it  is  inferred 
that  an  earlier  play  of  Hamlet  than  Shakespeare's 
did  exist,  may,  on  the  other  hand  be  taken  to  prove 
that  Shakespeare's  original  sketch  of  Ham  let  was  in 
repute  at  an  earlier  period  than  is  commonly  as- 
signed as  its  date."  It  vexed  Knight  who  tells  us 
Collier  constantly  spoke  of  and  harped  upon  the 
"old"  Hamlet. 

Malone  said: 

"If  Shakespeare  meant  to  allude  to  the  case  of 
Dame  Hales,  (which  indeed  seems  not  improbable,) 
he  must  have  heard  of  that  case  in  conversation ;  for 
it  was  determined  before  he  was  born,  and  Plow- 
den's  Commentaries,  in  which  it  is  reported  were 
not  translated  into  English  till  a  few  years  ago.    Our 

126 


author's  study  was  probably  not  much  encumbered 
with  old  French  Keports." 

Anotlier  stuinblino-  block  may  be  found  in  HamleVs  in- 
structions to  tlie  players.  How  could  a  youth  so  fresh 
from  his  native  town  direct  authoritivelv  the  Actor's  in 
speech  and  gesture,  conveying  the  art  of  using  their  Eng- 
lish : 

''As  1  pronoioiccd  it  to  you  iripiniiylij  on  the 
tongue' f 

Henry  VIII.  once  asked  a  foreign  phAsician  who  had 
lived  in  England  many  years,  w^hy  he  did  not  si)eak  Eng- 
lish better?  The  answer  was:  "Sire,  what  can  you  expect 
from  one  who  has  only  lived  here  thirtv  vears?"  "The 
learned  pupil  of  Buchannon,  who  misruled  two  Kingdoms 
"mouthed''  his  English  in  a  broad  Scotch  accent,  and  yet 
he  must  have  been  taught  English  from  his  childhood. 

Orl.    Where  dwell  you,  pretty  youth? 

Ros.  AVith  this  shepherdess,  my  sister;  here  in 
the  skirts  of  the  forest,  like  fringe  upon  a  petticoat. 

Orl.  Are  you  native  of  this  place? 

i?o.s'.  As  the  conev,  that  vou  see  dwell  where  she 
is  kindled. 

07'1.  Your  accent  is  something  finer  than  you  could 
purchase  in  so  removed  a  dwelling. 

Ros.  I  have  been  told  so  of  man}^ :  but,  indeed,  an 
old  religious  uncle  of  mine  taught  me  to  speak,  who 
was  in  his  youth  an  inland  man ;  one  that  knew 
courtship  too  well,  for  there  he  fell  in  love.  I  have 
heard  him  read  many  lectures  against  it;  and  I 
thank  God,  I  am  not  a  w^oman,  to  be  touched  with 
so  many  giddy  offences,  as  he  hath  generally  taxed 
their  whole  sex  withal. 

Inland  (Saxon  Law  Term),  that  inner  Laud,  or 
part  of  a  Manor  which  lay  next  or  most  convenient 
for  the  Lord's  Mansion-House,  for  the  Maintenance 

127 


of  his  Family,  &c.  and  opposed  to  the  Vtland,  or 
Outlaud,  which  was  to  let  out  to  Tenants." — 
Phillips. 


John  Davies  of  Hereford,  for  fear  of  offending,  is  care- 
ful to  say  in  the  very  beginning-  that  he  sings  the  follow- 
ing lines  "in  sport."  Perhaps  the  great  lord  Burleigh  and 
his  son,  Robert  Cecil,  were  displeased  at  the  portrayal  of 
"Kings  and  Counsellors,"  and  as  the  Comedy  of  Errors 
was  a  part  of  the  Sports,  it  may  have  moved  Davies  to 
pen  these  lines: 

To  our  Englifh  Terence,  Mr.  Will, 
Shake-fpeare. 
Some  fay  (good  WiU)  which  I  in  fport,  do  fing, 
Had'ft  thou  not  plaid  fome  Kingly  i^arts  in  fport. 
Thou  liadft  bin  a  companion  for  a  King; 
And,  beene  a  King  among  the  meaner  fort. 
Some  others  raile;  but,  raile  as  they  thinke  fit, 
Thou  haft  no  rayllng,  but,  a  raigning  Wit: 
;  And  honefty  thou  fow'  ft,  which  they  do  reape, 

'  Ho,  to  iucrcafe  their  Stocke  which  they  do  keepe. 

Davies  must  have  referred  to  the  principal  capital  or 
stock  of  a  company  when  he  says  Sliake-speare  sow'd  "to 
increase  their  Stocke  which  they  do  keepe." 

The  lines  are  puzzling,  for  we  know  Shakespeare  shared 
in  the  profits  of  the  Lord  Chamberlains  servants,  and  that 
he  "trafficked  with  the  stage." 

It  is  well  known  that  Francis  Bacon,  by  some  act  un- 
known to  us,  displeased  the  Cecils,  who  never  forgave  him, 
and  gave  his  mother  many  anxious  hours.    Bacon's  words : 

"I  have  tuned  the  harp  of  the  muses 
That  others  may  play" 

leads  me  to  think  Shakespeare  could  not  have  found  in 
London  a  more  tender  defender  than  Francis  Bacon.  For 
we  must  bear  in  mind  the  actors  that  played  at  Gray's 

128 


Inn  that  Christmas  were  called  "base  and  common  fellows" 
and  it  is  most  true  that  Bacon's  mother  looked  upon  these 
men  as : 


u 


'A  crew  of  patches,  rude  mechanics,  that  worl- 
for  hread." 

The  reader  will  better  understand  Lady  Bacon's  feeling 
if  I  quote  from  Sir  John  Feme's  ^'^The  Blazon  of  Gentrie/' 
printed  in  1586,  one  year  before  Shakespeare's  arrival  in 
London.  Feme  studied  law  in  the  Inner  Temple  and  was 
well  known  to  the  Bacon's.  It  was  not  only  the  Actor 
Avho  was  despised  but  to  write  plays  for  the  public  was 
a  disgrace.  A  nobleman  or  a  gentleman  might  write  a 
masque  for  the  Court,  or  for  his  University,  as  so  many 
of  them  did;  but  to  pen  plays  for  the  multitude — to  be 
"clapper  clawed  by  the  vulgar" — was  ignominious  and  base. 
Tlie  student  must  forget  the  present  and  transport  his 
thoughts  to  the  age  of  Shakespeare  if  he  would  realize  the 
status  of  the  Theatre  Poet.  Sir  John  Feme  gives  us  to 
understand  that  no  man  in  his  day  was  termed  "gentle"  or 
a  "gentleman"  unless  he  bore  a  coat  of  arms.  He  describes 
the  seven  liberal  Artes,  and  then  delineates  the  seven  Me- 
chanical Sciences,  saying :  "Mechanical  sciences,  with  their 
professours  were  debarred  the  preheminence  of  Gentrie." 
Then  adds:  "And  of  these  Mechanical  Artes  (that  have 
retayned  the  title  of  necessary,  honest,  and  laudable)  the 
nuudier  of  them  is  but  seven."  And  he  puts  the  skill  of 
the  actor  and  the  writer  of  plays  at  the  end  of  his  list, 
thus: 

"The  seventh  and  last  Mechanical  Arte,  is  called 
Theatrica,  that  is  to  say,  the  arte  and  skill  of  Playes 
practised  in  Theatres,  and  exposed  to  the  spectacle  of  mul- 
titudes. ...  If  they  be  played  for  the  cause  of  gaine, 
to  move  laughter  and  sport  to  the  people,  such  playes  be 
reprobate,  and  not  only  worthy  of  dispraise,  but  rather 
to  be  accounted  infamous,"  pp.  74-76.  That  the  stage  did 
stain  pure  gentle  blood  we  are  told  by  John  Davies  of  Here- 

129 


ford  in  his  Microcosmos,  1603,  where  he  again  points  to 
Shakespeare : 

^layers,  I  love  yee,  and  your  Qualitie, 
c  w.  s.  R.  B.  "^^  y^  ^^^  Men,  that  pass  time  not  abus'd : 
saith,  that"pllnt  ^hcI  some  I  love  for  painting,  poefie, 

ing  is  a  dumb 

S'aspe^aidng    ^^^  ^''^^  ^^^^  Fovtune  canuot  be  excuf'd, 
That  hath  for  better  ufes  you  refuf'd : 
Wity  Courage,  good  shape,  good  partes,  and  all  good, 

Roscius  was 

said  for  his  ex-  \g  Jong  as  al  thefe  qoods  are  no  icorfe  ufd, 

celleHcy  in  his  ^  '^  '  ' 

only  worthk  ^^^  though  the  Stage  doth  staine  pure  gentle  bloud,. 

to  come  on 

the  stage,  and  Yet  geuerous  yee  are  in  minde  and  moode. 

for  his  home-  "^  "^ 

sty  to  be  more 
worthy  then  to 
come  theron. 


In  Chamberlain's  letters  are  found  allusions  to  Bacon's 
friends  and  relations. 

On  the  11th  June,  1597,  he  shows  how  Bacon's  Alter  Ego, 
Tobie  Mathew,  desired  to  follow  Dudley'  Carleton  into 
France : 

"Went  to  Askot,  where  I  met  with  your  brother 
Carleton  (comming  from  the  buriall  of  your  uncle 
Goodwin),  who  told  me  Tobie  Mathew  had  shewed 
him  a  letter  from  you  wherein  you  complained  much 
of  want,  and  what  narrow  straights  you  were  like 
to  be  driven  to,  marvailing  you  had  toucht  no  such 
matter  in  your  letters  to  him,  and  therewithall  began 
to  dilate  to  me  what  he  had  don  and  could  do  for 
you,  but  the  conclusion  was  that  his  abilitie  is  not 
to  supplie  all  wants,  and  therefore  you  must  trust 
to  yourself  and  make  your  owne  fortune.  I  replied 
litle  to  it  but  only  in  general  termes,  the  rather  be- 
cause I  hope  it  is  but  a  borrowed  complaint  to  distast 
younge  Mathew  from  following  j'ou  into  Fraunce 
then  for  any  true  cause. 

130 


lu  a  letter  (hited  ITth  May,  1598,  he  says: 

"All  that  I  heare  of  Tobie  Mathew  is,  that  he 
staide  in  Frauiice  with  yoimge  Thro<>morton,  that 
fell  sicke  of  the  small  pockes." 

Ill  Oct.,  1001,  he  writes:  "Tobie  Mathew  is  newly  come 
to  towne  with  his  lord  father  and  mother,"  and  again  on 
the  8th  of  May,  1G02,  "Your  friend  Tobie  jNIathew  is  newly 
recovered  from  a  long  and  shrewd  fit  of  his  old  infirmity."" 

On  Dee.  I'Oth,  1598,  he  writes  to  Carleton : 

"You  see  how  confidently  I  write  to  you  of  all 
things,  but  I  hope  you  kepe  it  to  yourself,  and  then 
there  is  no  daunger,  and  I  am  so  used  to  a  libertie 
and  fredome  of  speach  when  I  converse  or  write  to 
my  friends  that  I  cannot  easilie  leave  it.  Your 
brother  and  sister  Williams  marvaile  they  heare  not 
from  you.  I  have  had  much  ado  to  excuse  myself 
this  Christmas  from  Knebworth  and  Askot,  but 
specially  from  Knebworth,  the  rather  because  Wat 
Cope  and  his  wife,  Hugh  Beeston,  and  Mr.  Evers, 
go  thether;  but  upon  some  occasions  I  am  growne 
so  privat  that  I  stirre  not  abrode,  nor  mean  to  do, 
but  to  live  at  home  like  a  snaile  in  the  shell.  And 
so,  washing  you  a  goode  new  yeare  and  many,  I  end. 

This  letter  may  have  been  written  from  Dr.  Gilbert's 
house.  We  j^dge  from  its  contents  that  Chamberlain  dis- 
liked both  W^ilter  Cope  and  Hugh  Beeston. 

On  July  1st,  1600,  he  writes : 

"I  have  not  seen  Watt  Cope  since  I  received  your 
letter,  and  therefore  know  nothing  more  of  the  com- 
mission. I  presume  you  shall  find  him  indifferent, 
for  I  remember  that,  upon  a  word  cast  out  by  myself 
at  the  first  mention  of  it,  he  protested  that  no  re- 
spect shold  carie  him  beyond  his  conscience." 

Cope's  master,  Cecil,  was  always  protesting  about  his- 
conscience. 

i:M 


On  4th  Dec,  1602,  lie  writes: 

"Mr.  Cope  is  very  hot  and  earnest  for  his  papers. 
I  would  you  could  tell  how  to  ^stop  his  mouth.'  " 

The  following-,  dated  Dec.  23rd,  1602,  brings  Cope  and 
his  master  Cecil  together: 

"I  have  pacified  Wat  Cope  in  shewing  him  what 
you  write  touching  his  papers.  Mr.  Secretarie  did 
him  a  very  extraordinarie  favor  to  admit  him  a  part- 
ner in  his  entertainment  to  the  Queue,  and  to  per- 
mit him  to  present  her  with  some  toyes  in  his  house, 
for  the  which  he  had  manv  faire  wordes,  but  as  vet 
cannot  get  into  the  private  chamber,  though  he  ex- 
pect it  daily.  You  like  the  Lord  Kepers  devises 
so  ill,  that  I  cared  not  to  get  Mr.  Secretaries  that 
were  not  much  better,  saving  a  pretty  dialogue  of 
John  Davies,  twixt  a  maide,  a  widow,  and  a  wife, 
which  I  do  not  thincke  but  Mr.  Saunders  hath  seen, 
and  no  doubt  will  come  out  one  of  these  dayes  in 
print  with  the  rest  of  his  works.  The  Lord  Ad- 
miralls  feasting  the  Queue  had  nothing  extraordi- 
narie, neither  were  his  presents  so  precious  as  was 
expected;  being  only  a  whole  suit  of  apparell, 
whereas  it  was  thought  he  would  have  bestowed  his 
rich  hangings  of  all  the  fights  with  the  Spanish 
Armada  in  eightie-eight.  These  feastings  have  had 
theire  effect  to  stay  the  Court  here  this  Christmas, 
though  most  of  the  cariages  were  well  onward  on 
theire  wave  to  Richmond. 

On  Feb.  11th,  1602-3,  he  reminds  C^irleton:  "You  still 
forget  Mr.  Cope,  whom  I  could  wish  you  had  at  this  time 
remembered." 

The  old  Queen  was  nearing  her  end,  and  it  was  well  to 
be  near  Cecil,  who  now  looked  toward  the  rising  Sun. 

132 


GooDE  Mr.  Carleton: 

Kow  I  have  dispatclit  the  ordinarie  occurrents,  it 
will  not  be  aiiiisse  to  iiiforme  you  of  some  privat 
matters  apart,  which  course  you  may  hold  with  me 
(if  you  please)  in  whatsoever  you  would  have  kept 
close  or  reserved;  for  both  you  and  I  have  so  many 
goode  frends  here  in  common,  that,  if  they  lieare  of 
any  post  or  packet,  they  thincke  themselves  wronged 
if  they  see  not  the  originall,  whereof  I  assure  you 
I  am  not  so  liberall,  but  that  they  see  it  comes  invita 
Minerva,  and  not  at  first  call.     Upon  my  first  com- 
ming  to  towne,  Mr.  Cope  incjuired  when  I  heard  from 
you,  and  told  me  of  two  papers  he  had  delivered  you 
of  the  genealogies  and  matches  of  the  great  houses  of 
France,  which  he  desired  you  to  continue  and  draw- 
out  till  this  time.    I  gave  no  great  eare  to  him  then ; 
but,  upon  a  second  and  third  sommons,  I  told  him 
what  other  imployments  and  business  withheld  you, 
that    you    could    not    attend    such    trinckets;    his 
aunswer  was  that  you  might  get  some  expert  French- 
man to  do  it  for  you  according  to  those  copies,  or  at- 
leastwise  send  him  backe  his  owne  papers  which  he 
had  out  of  his  old  lords  memorialls.    Though  I  hold 
him  neither  apt  nor  greatly  able  to  do  any  frend  he 
hath  goode,  vet  must  we  sometimes  hold  a  candle 
before  the  devill,  and  do  as  the  people  of  Calicut, 
that  worsiiip  him,  not  so  much  for  any  help  they 
looke  for  at  his  hands,  as  because  he  shold  do  them 
no  harme.     I  use  him  somwhat  after  that  kinde; 
and,   though   for  some  inward   respects  I   maligne 
him  as  much  as  any  old  frend  he  hath,  yet  I  com- 
pile thus  far  with  him  as  to  serve  his  humor  now  and 
then  when  it  comes  upon  me.     As  this  other  day, 
expostulating  with  me  why  I  did  not  present  Mr. 
Secretarie  with  some  toyes  to  kepe  me  in  his  remem- 
braunce,  I  delivered  him  some  of  those  pictures  and 
verses  vou  sent  me  in  vour  hand  which  I  presume 

133 


Mr.  Secretarie  knowes,  at  leastwise  I  told  Wat  Cope 
I  had  them  from  you,  and  he  sayes  Mr.  Secretarie 
chose  the  last  picture  ami  the  last  verses  you  sent, 
so  that,  if  it  do  me  no  goode,  it  can  do  you  no  harme. 
If  vou  did  not  know  me  so  w^ell  as  you  do,  me 
thinckes  you  might  guesse  I  aime  at  somwhat,  but 
I  vowe  and  sweare  unto  you  by  our  love  and  friend- 
ship (which  is  a  sound  oth)  that  I  am  past  all  ambi- 
tion, and  wish  nor  seeke  nothing  but  how  to  live 
suaviter  and  in  plentie.  To  which  end  and  to  your 
own  goode,  if  you  sometimes  furnish  me  with  such 
toyes  as  you  thincke  fit,  it  will  not  be  amiss." — 
October  2,  1602. 

The  following  letter  to   Bacon's  cousin  is  said  to  be 
from  Sir  Walter  Cope,  1604. 

"Sir: 

"I  have  sent  and  bene  all  thys  morning  huntyng 
for  players  Juglers  «&  Such  kinde  of  Creaturs,  but 
fyude  them  harde  to  finde,  wherfore  Leavinge  notes 
for  them  to  seeke  me,  burbage  ys  come,  &  Sayes  ther 
ys  no  new  playe  that  the  queue  hath  not  scene,  but 
they  have  Eevyved  an  olde  one,  Cawled  Loves  Lahore 
lost,  which  for  wytt  &  mirthe  he  sayes  will  please 
her  excedingly.  And  Thys  ys  apointed  to  be  playd 
to  Morowe  night  at  my  Lord  of  Southamptons,  un- 
less yow  send  a  wrytt  to  Kemove  the  Corpus  Cum 
Causa  to  your  howse  in  strande.  Burbage  ys  my 
messenger  Ready  attendyng  your  pleasure. 
"Yours  most  humbly, 

"Walter  Cope." 

Letter  dated  "From  your  Lihrary,"  written  hi/  l^ir 
Walter  Cope,  addressed  ''To  the  right  honorable 
the  Lord  Yycount  Cranhorne  at  the  Courter  En- 
dorsed: 1604,  /S'/r  Walter  Cope  to  my  Lord.  Hat- 
-field  House  J/*SVS'.    >S'ce  Third  Report  of  the  Royal 

134 


Commission  of  Historical  Manuscripts.     1872.    p. 
148.   "Cent,  of  Praise/'  p.  62. 

Hamlet's: 

"The  less  they  deserve,  the  more 
INIerit  in  your  bounty." 

found  no  entrance  in  Cope's  philosophy. 

Doctor  C.  W.  Wallace  in  'The  First  London  Theatre/ 
1913,  tells  us : 

"In  June,  1589,  Burbage  and  his  son  Cuthbert  ap- 
pealed to  Walter  Cope  in  the  matter.  Cope  was  gen- 
tleman usher  to  the  Lord  High  Treasurer  of  Eng- 
land, and  in  that  important  post  had  great  influ- 
ence. He  was  intimate  with  every  high  official  of 
the  realm,  and  later  himself  became  one  of  the 
powerful  men  of  England  under  James  I.  Cuthbert 
Burbage,  a  young  man  of  only  twenty-two  years, 
according  to  his  own  deposition,  was  then  and  for 
some  years  later  employed  by  Cope  as  His  "servant," 
probably  as  clerk  in  some  department  of  the  Treas- 
ury. Upon  the  request  of  Cuthbert  and  his  father, 
Walter  Cope  wrote  a  letter  to  John  Hyde  suggest- 
ing that  Cope  might  be  of  service  to  Hyde  with  the 
Lord  Treasurer  sometime,  if  he  would  be  so  good 
as  to  convey  to  Cuthbert  the  lease  of  the  Theatre. 
So  Hyde  did  it.  He  said  afterwards,  as  Bett  testi- 
fied, that  if  it  had  not  been  for  Cope's  letter  he 
would  not  have  sold  to  Cuthbert,  but  to  Clough  and 
Middlemore,  who  verv  much  wanted  it.  It  was  a 
close  shave  for  the  Burbage — and  possibly  for  the 
future  drama." 

We  catch  a  glimpse  of  Bacon's  friends  at  the  Mermaid 
in  this  letter : 

"Yesternight  Mr.  Edmunds,  Mr.  Winwood,  your 
brother,  Mr.  Gent,  and  myself  supt  at  the  Mermaide, 

135 


where  your  health  was  often  remembered,  and  better 
provided  for  inter  poeula  then  your  owue,  for  I  have 
ben  distempered  ever  since.  .  .  .  And  so  with 
my  best  wishes  I  commit  you  to  God." 

From  London,  this  11th  of  February,  1602. 
Yours  most  assuredly, 

John  Chamberlain. 

[Addressed^] 

To  my  assured  goode  freud 
Mr.  Dudley  Carleton 
give  these 
at  the  Lord  Ambassadors 

in  Paris. 

Chamberlain  did  not  enjoy  these  wet  combats  as  much 
as  Ben  Jonson  and  Fletcher  did.  In  his  poem,  "Inviting 
a  Friend  to  Supper,"  Jonson  says : 

But  that  which  most  doth  take  my  muse  and  me. 

Is  a  pure  cup  of  rich  Canary  wine, 

AVhich  is  the  Mermaid's  now,  but  shall  be  mine. 

Of  this  we  shall  sup  free,  but  moderately ; . 

Nor  shall  our  cups  make  any  guilty  men : 

But  at  our  parting  we  will  be  as  when 

We  innocently  met.    No  simple  word. 

That  shall  be  utter'd  at  our  mirthful  board, 

Shall  nmke  us  sad  next  morning,  or  affright 

The  liberty  that  we'll  enjo}^  to  night. 

This  resolution  must  have  been  made  on  a  New  Year's 
Eve,  for  we  are  told  b}^  a  contemporary  that  wine  was  the 
element  in  which  Jonson  lived. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  these  friends  of  Bacon's 
knew  Shakespeare  well,  although  his  name  is  never  men- 
tioned in  their  correspondence. 


136 


These  letters  of  John  Chanibei'laiii  to  his  friend  Sir  Dud- 
ley Carleton  from  151)7  to  KKI.'i,  Edited  for  the  Camden 
Society,  are  filled  witli  contemporary  news  of  all  kinds,  and 
are  valuable  contributions  to  the  social,  artistic,  and  polit- 
ical life  of  his  day.  Tiiey  bring  us  in  contact  with  the  most 
notable  people  of  Elizabeth's  Court,  and  after  her  death  they 
enable  us  to  follow  them  into  the  Court  of  James  I.,  for 
Chamberlain  continued  to  Avrite  up  to  the  year  of  his 
death,  1G25. 

A  happy  few  of  Chamberlain's  friends,  I  am  inclined 
to  think,  were  memibers  of  a  sort  of  secret  society  which 
held  its  meetings  at  the  house  of  Dr.  Gilbert  on  St. 
Peters  Hill,  London.  During  the  Essex  troubles  this 
Dr.  Gilbert  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  Queen's  physicians 
and  their  meetings  at  his  house  Avere  broken  up.  On 
Nov.  14,  IGOl,  Chamiberlin  Avrites : 

Mr.  Carleton^ 
^'I  wrote  to  Mr.  Winwood  the  last  weeke,  and 
sent  him  such  i>oore  occurents  as  the  time  affords. 
I  meant  to  have  saluted  you  likewise,  and  geven 
you  thancks  for  yours  of  the  24th  of  the  last, 
which  came  to  my  hands  that  weeke,  but  I  could 
neither  find  time  nor  j)lace,  unles  I  shold  have 
crept  into  some  scriveners  shop,  for  Mr.  Lytton, 
Avhiles  he  is  here,  hath  so  much  companie,  and  so 
much  to  do,  that  he  possesseth  every  corner,  so  that 
I  am  driven  to  a  narrow  shift  to  write  now." 
Showing  how  he  missed  the  privacy  of  Dr.  Gilbert's. 

On  Feb.  3rd,  1600,  he  had  w^'itten : 

''The  Queue  hath  made  choise  of  our  Doctor  for 
her  phisition,  but  he  is  not  yet  sworne.  I  doubt 
our  colledge  wdlbe  dissolved,  and  some  of  us  sent 
to  seeke  our  fortune." 

Again  on  May  27,  IGOl : 

"GooDE  ]Mr,  Cari.eton, 

I  am  driven  to  such  straights  that  I  know  not 

137 


what  to  say  but  quid  scriham,  aut  quid  non  scrih- 
am?  The  uncertaintie  of  your  stay,  my  long  aTb- 
seiice  from  this  towne,  the  unluckines  of  my  let- 
ters to  be  lost  or  overlooked,  and  the  difficultie  of 
finding  fit  messengers,  have  almost  quite  discour- 
aged me,  and  made  me  a  truant  en  rostre  endrox, 
for  so  will  I  acknowledge  it  to  you,  howsoever  to 
others  I  could  salve  and  make  all  whole  with  pass- 
able and  pregnant  excuses;  but  with  so  goode  a 
trend  I  will  never  disguise,  but  tell  the  plaine 
troth  and  (which  is  worst)  without  hope  of 
amendes,  for  I  know  not  how  to  redeeme  that  is 
past  with  future  diligence,  being  (since  the  disso- 
lution of  our  societie)  become  altogether  a  countri- 
mau,  and  not  appearing  heer  but  as  a  termer. 


77 


From  London  8th  of  July  IGOl  he  writes: 

"Mr.  Gent,  at  his  going  out  of  towne  yesterday, 
willed  me  to  commend  him  to  you.  We  shall  meet 
very  shortly,  God  willing,  at  Askot.  If  you  direct 
your  letters  either  to  my  lodging,  or  to  Mr.  John 
Nortons,  they  will  finde  me  out." 
To  my  assured  goode  frend 

Mr.  Dudley  Carleton 
geve  these 

at  Paris. 


Again  on  June  8th  1G02 :  ''If  you  Avrite  direct  your 
letters  to  Norton's  and  I  will  leave  order  to  have  them 
sent  after  me." 

This  was  John  Norton  the  Printer,  who  later  on 
printed  some  of  Shakespeare's  plays.  Ei chard  Field  printed 
North's  Plutarch  for  John  Norton  in  1G03.  In  this  same 
letter  he  says:  "Litle  Britain  is  translated  to  a  house 
without  Criplegate,  where  they  have  more  elbow  roome, 
but  scant  better  aire." 

Carleton's  sister  jMrs.  Williams  lived  in  Little  Britain, 

138 


0  V^      Tt^W^l"^ 


not  far  from  Silver  and  Mugwell  Streets.  Perhaps  they 
had  taken  a  house  for  the  summer  without  Cripplegate 
which  brought  them  still  nearer  to  Shakespeare's  lodg- 
ings in  Silver  Street. 

On  the  preceding  page  will  be  found  a  map  of  Little 
Britain  showing  its  exact  location  in  Shakespeare's  day. 
This  I  had  copied  from  the  map  of  Aggas,  1563. 

Again  he  mentions  Cripplegate : 

"I  see  not  your  friends  without  Criplegate;  but 
I  heare  your  sister  Williams  hath  had  a  sonne. 
You  must  excuse  my  hudling  haste,  and  commend 
me  in  all  kindnes  to  Mr.  Winwood,  to  whom  I  wold 
have  written  if  either  I  had  more  matter  or  leisure ; 
but  you  may  supplie  that  default  with  acquainting 
him  with  what  you  thincke  worth  the  imparting; 
and  so  I  commit  you  to  Gods  holy  protection." 
From  London,  this  second  of  October,  1602. 
Yours  most  assuredly, 

John  Chamberlain. 

This  year  1602  was  a  prosj^erous  one  for  Shakespeare, 
for  he  bought  lands  from  John  Combe  in  Stratford-on- 
Avon,  and  secured  a  parcel  of  land  in  Eowington,  nearby. 

It  was  also  a  luc^ky  year  for  his  associate  Cuthbert 
Burbage  who  was  saved  from  bankruptcy  by  Francis 
Bacon.  Why  was  Bacon  chosen,  when  there  were  so 
many  other  able  lawyers  at  Grays  Inn?  My  belief  is 
that  he  was  friendly  with  Burbage  and  his  "deserving 
man"  Shakespeare.  There  is  in  a  letter  of  vChamber- 
lain's  dated  April  26,  1602,  in  w^hich  he  uses  a  Shake- 
spearian phrase: 

"I  have  an  inckling  (but  you  must  take  no  notice 
of  it  in  any  wise,)  that  your  wisest  and  best  es- 
teemed sister  is  taken  in  the  same  trap;  so  that 
I  see,  if  wenches  have  not  theire  will,  and  that 

140 


liusbands  come  not  at  call,  we  sliall  Iiave  them  all 

diseonteuted  and  turne  Turke/' 

Perhaps  "turne  Turke"  was  a  current  Court  phrase 
for  Hamlet  uses  it  in:  ''If  the  rest  of  my  fortunes  turn 
Turke." 

In  this  letter  19  Nov.  IGO'2  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the 
Court  and  the  Bankside: 

"At  the  tilt  were  many  younge  runners,  as  you 
may  perceve  by  the  paper  of  tlieire  names.  Your 
foole  Garret  made  as  faire  a  shew  as  the  prowdest 
of  them,  and  was  as  well  disguised,  mary  not  alto- 
gether so  well  mounted,  for  his  horse  was  no 
bigger  than  a  goode  'ban-dogge;  but  he  delivered 
his  scutchion  with  his  impresa  himself,  and  had. 
goode  audience  of  her  Majestic,  and  made  her  very 
merry.  And,  now  we  are  in  mirth,  I  must  not  for- 
get to  tell  you  of  a  cousening  prancke  of  one 
Venner,  of  Lincolns  Inne,  that  gave  out  bills  of  a 
famous  play  on  iSatterday  was  sevenight  on  the 
Banckeside,  to  be  acted  only  by  certain  gentlemen 
and  gentlewomen  of  account.  The  price  at  com- 
ming  in  w^as  two  shillings  or  eighteen  pence  at 
least;  and,  when  he  had  gotten  most  part  of  the 
mony  into  his  hands,  he  wold  have  shewed  them  a 
faire  paire  of  heeles,  but  he  was  not  so  nimble  to 
get  up  on  horsebacke,  but  that  he  was  faine  to  for- 
sake that  course,  and  betake  himselfe  to  the  w^ater, 
where  he  was  pursued  and  taken,  and  brought  be- 
fore the  Lord  Cheife  Justice,  who  wold  make  noth- 
ing of  it  but  a  jest  and  a  merriment,  and  bounde 
him  over  in  five  pound  to  appeare  at  the  sessions. 
In  the  meane  time  the  common  people,  wiien  they 
saw  themselves  deluded,  revenged  themselves  upon 
the  hangings,  curtains,  chaires,  stooles,  walles,  and 
whatsoever  came  in  theire  way,  very  outragiously, 
and  made  great  spoile;  there  was  great  store  of 
goode  companie,  and  many  noblemen." 

141 


Herein  we  catcli  a  sight  of  two  of  Bacon's  friends : 

"Our  Mr.  Trot  shall  marry  one  Mr.  Perins 
daughter  of  Hartfordshire,  a  lusty  tall  wench  able 
to  beat  two  of  him.  Newes  came  this  morning 
that  Fulke  Grrivell  is  returned,  and  that  the  car- 
raque  is  arrived  at  Plimmouth." 


On  Oct.  2,  1G05,  lOhamberlain  goes  with  Bodley  and 
others  to  Oxford  University: 

"Mr.  Bodley  nor  Mr.  Gent  are  neither  of  them 
come  to  towne,  so  that  I  have  nobody  nor  nowhere 
to  learne  any  thing  on  the  sodain;  and  yet,  hear- 
ing of  a  post  that  goes  away  soone,  I  wold  not  omit 
to  write,  though  I  have  nothing  but  countrie  occur- 
rents,  which  jou  shall  have  as  redelie  as  I  can  re- 
member them  in  this  haste,  even  ah  ovo.  'The  com- 
mencement at  Oxford  was  very  famous,  for  plentie 
of  doctors,  that  were  fifteen,  twelve  divines,  and 
three  lawyers;  for  store  of  venison,  Avhereof  Dr. 
Kinge  had  27  buckes  for  his  part;  for  royall  chere, 
and  an  excellent  concio  ad  clerum,  wherein  your 
cousen  Dr.  Goodwin  bare  the  bell;  for  the  exceed- 
ing assemblie  of  gentles,  but  specially  for  the  great 
confluence  of  cutpurses,  whereof  ensued  many 
losses  and  shrewde  turnes,  as  first  Mr.  Bodley  lost 
his  clocke,  'Sir  liichard  Lea  two  Jewells  of  200 
markes,  which  Sir  Harry  Lea  and  he  meant  to 
have  bestowed  on  the  bride,  Mr.  Tanfelds  daugh- 
ter; and  divers  other  lost  goode  summes  of  five, 
eight,  and  fourteen  j)ounds,  besides  petty  detri- 
ments of  scarfes,  fans,  gloves;  and  one  mad  knave, 
whether  of  malice  or  merriment,  tooke  the  advan- 
tage to  pull  of  a  gentlewomans  shooe,  and  made  the 
goose  go  home  barefoote.  I  was  not  there  myself; 
but,  understanding  what  a  high  tide  there  was  like 
to  be,  wold  not  commit  myself  to  the  streame,  but 

142 


lay  quiet  at   Mr.    Dormers,   where   we   liad   your 
brothers  coiupanie  now  and  then." 

To  Carlton  7th  Dec.  1G12  he  Avrites : 

"Our  Cambridge  men  are  nothing  so  forward  in 
affections;  only  I  have  some  verses  are  set  out 
and  given  to  some  few,  but  not  publicly  sold." 

Ballads,   books,   and   literature   of   all    kinds    passed 
between  these  friends : 

"I  have  some  papers  of  yours  which  I  meane  to 
leave  at  your  sister  Williams.  I  cannot  send  you 
Grob'endoncs  booke,  for  I  presently  restored  it  to 
Blacke  Milles,  of  whom  I  borrowed  it.  Thus  in 
haste  I  bid  you  farewell." 
From  London,  this  10th  of  May,  1600. 

Yours  most  assuredly, 

John  Chamberlain. 
In  Feb.  1602  he  says : 

"The  last  I  wrote  you  was  about  the  tenth  or 
eleventh  of  this  j)resent,  and  I  sent  it  (with  a 
booke  or  two)  by  one  Gresham,  that  kepes  a  bugle 
shop  in  St.  Martins."  • 

In  the   following  we   see   the  beginning  of   the   end 
had  come  for  the  unfortunate  young  Earl  of  Essex  : 

"The  Erie  of  Essex  hath  ben  somwhat  crasie 
this  weeke.  The  Lord  Keeper  was  sent  for  yester- 
day to  the  'Court,  w^herupon  his  followers  feed 
themselves  fat  with  hope  in  this  leane  time  of 
Lent.  I  heare  that  (Sir  Henry  Nevill  is  become 
deafe  since  his  going  over,  and  therfore  makes 
meanes  to  be  called  home.  Litle  Britain  is  left 
desolate,  and  the  whole  household  translated  into 
Essex.  I  know  not  hoAV  my  last  came  to  your 
hands,  nor  how  this  shall  finde  the  Avay,  but  you 
see  what  shift  I  have  made  to  peece  out  a  letter 

143 


more  then  I  meant  in  the  beginning.     And  so  in 
haste  I  commit  you  to  God." 

From  London,  this  last  of  February,  1600. 
t  Yours  most  assuredly, 

^  John  Chambeelain. 

To  my  assured  goode  trend 

Mr.  Dudley  Carleton 

gere  these,  at  Rycot, 
/  or  els  where. 

There  is  a  letter  in  Winwood's  "Memorials"  which 
leads  me  to  believe  Chamberlain  must  have  been  em- 
ployed as  a  "Gentleman  quartely  waiter"  in  the  Court 
of  James  I.  It  is  from  Carleton  who  writes  to  Win- 
wood: 

"In  Mr.  Chamberlains  absence,  I  come  in  quarter, 
and  have  waited  so  diligently  at  Court  this  Christ- 
mas, that  I  have  matter  enough,  if  the  report  of 
Masks  and  Mummings  can  please  etc." 

When  Sir  Francis  Bacon  was  married  in  1606  Carle- 
ton wrote  Chamberlain  11  April  1606,  "His  chief  guests 
were  the  three  Knights  Cope,  Hicks,  and  Beeston." 

In  this  long  corresijondence  we  seek  in  vain  for  the 
name  of  'Shakespeare. 

On  iCeciPs'  death  May  24,  1612,  Chamberlain  says: 
"It  drowned  all  other  news."  On  March  previous  he 
wrot^  referring  to  Bacon's  Essay  on  Deformaty  saying: 

"Where  in  a  chapter  of  Deformaty  the  world 
takes  note  he  paints  his  little  cousin  to  the  life." 

Dr.  Gilbert  referred  to,  published  his  book  "De  Mag- 
neie"'  in  1600,  which  is  noticed  by  Bacon  in  his  Novum 
Organum. 

The  following  letter  is  from  Spedding's  Letters  and 
Life  of  Bacon,  Vol.  VII. : 

144 


To  Sir  Dudley  Carleton 
My  Lord  Ambassadoro, 

This  gentleman  'Mr  Joceljn  served  me  when  I 
kept  the  great  Seal.  I  found  him  honest  and 
orderly.  He  desireth  to  be  favoured  in  a  CoronelPs 
Company,  and  liopeth  to  oibtain  it  (by  your  good 
mean  and  your  endeavor  by  my  recommendation, 
which  I  would  be  very  glad  he  should,  and  most 
heartily  pray  you  to  be  his  help  for  my  sake. 

Ever  resting  Your  Lordships  very  affectionate 
friend, 

Fr.  St.  Alban. 
Grays  Inn 

15  of  Ap.  1G23. 

In  Aubrey's  Brief  Lives  Ed.  by  'Clark,  is  the  follow- 
ing regarding  Bacon's  widow: 

'•His  Dowager  married  her  gentleman  Usher  Sir 
Thomas  Underhill,  whom  she  made  deaf  and  blind 
by  too  much  Venus." 

and  continues: 

''His  Lordship  was  a  good  poet  but  concealed.  *  *  * 
He  had  a  delicate  lively  hazel  eye.  Dr.  Harvey  told  me 
it  was  like  the  eye  of  a  viper,"  and  adds :  "I  have  now 
forgot  Avhat  Mr  Bushell  says,  whether  his  Lordship  en- 
joyed his  muse  best  at  night  or  in  the  morning." 

Dudley  Carleton's  2nd  w4fe  was  Anne  daughter  of 
Sir  Henry  Glenham  and  widow  of  Paul  Vicount  Bayning. 
This  lady  was  descended  from  the  Bacons. 

Carleton's  sister  Bridget  married  Hercules  Underhill, 
who  in  1G02  gave  Shakespeare  the  quit-claim  to  New 
Place.  This  gentleman  was  Knighted  by  James  I.  in 
1G17.  In  1599  a  book  written  by  John  Hayward  ''The 
first  part  of  the  Life  of  Hen.  /U."  and  dedicated  to  the 
Earl  of  Essex,  much  displeased  the  Queen. 

This  is  Chamberlain's  account  of  it: 

145 


"For  lacke  of  better  matter,  I  send  you  three  or 
foiire  toyes  to  passe  away  the  time.  The  letter  of 
Squires  conspiracie  is  well  written,  but  the  other 
of  Dr.  Dee  is  a  ridiculous  bable  of  an  old  impos- 
turing  jugler.  The  Silkeworme  is  thought  to  be 
Dr.  iMuffetts,  and  in  mine  opinion  is  no  bad  piece 
of  poetrie.  The  treatise  of  Henry  the  Fourth  is 
reasonablie  well  w^ritten.  The  author  is  a  younge 
man  of  Cambridge  toward  the  civill  lawe.  Here 
hath  ben  much  descanting  about  it,  why  such  a 
storie  shold  come  out  at  this  time,  and  many  ex- 
ceptions taken,  especially  to  the  Epistle,  which  was 
a  short  thing  in  Latin  dedicated  to  the  Erie  of 
Essex,  and  objected  to  him  in  goode  earnest,  where- 
upon there  was  commaundment  it  shold  be  cut  out 
of  the  booke;  yet  I  have  got  you  a  transcript  of  it 
that  you  may  picke  out  the  offence  if  you  can ;  for 
my  part  I  can  finde  no  such  buggeswords,  but  that 
everything  is  as  it  is  taken.  I  am  going  the  next 
w^eeke  (God  willing)  to  Knebworth,  in  wiiicli  con- 
sideration I  am  not  greatly  sory  for  your  stayeng 
at  Ostend,  for  I  shold  have  injoyed  but  litle  of 
your  company,  which  perhaps  w^ill  come  better  to 
"^■■'  passe  at  some  other  time.  And  so,  wishing  you 
all  contentment  both  here  and  there,  I  commit  you 
to  God. 

From  London,  this  first  of  March,  1599. 
Yours  most  assuredly, 

John  Chamberlain. 

Francis  Bacon  wrote  Devices  and  letters  for  Essex 
and  may  have  composed  the  following  to  which  Cham- 
berlain refers  on  Oct.  20,  1598: 

"I  have  here  sent  you  some  verses  that  go  under 
the  name  of  the  Lord  of  Essex  when  he  was  in 
disgrace,  but  I  cannot  warrant  them  to  be  his,  nor 
made  at  that  time." 

]4G 


Again : 

"1  have  hQiit  you  lu  ic  a  passionate  letter  of  my 
Lord  of  Essex,  the  last  he  wrote  to  the  Qiiene  out 
of  Ireland;  and  thus  you  see  Avhat  a  bundell  I  have 
made  of  all  that  comes  to  hand,  and  perchaunce 
wearied  you  as  mucli  as  myself,  and  therefore  with- 
out further  ceremonies  1  will  bid  you  farewell." 
From  London  this  13th  of  June,  1000. 

Ben  Jonson's  '^ Every  Man  in  his  Humor''  may  here 
be  referred  to  in  1597: 

"We  have  here  a  new  play  of  humors  in  very 
great  request,  and  I  was  drawn  alonge  to  it  by 
the  common  applause,  but  my  opinion  of  it  is 
(as  the  fellow  saide  of  the  shearing  of  hogges), 
that  there  was  a  great  crie  for  so  litle  wolle." 

On  Dec.  8,  1598,  he  sends : 

''Thesaurus  Geographicus,  which  may  well  serve 
your  turn  for  old  authors,  but  for  the  late  writers 
and  discoveries  I  thincke  it  will  stand  you  in 
litle  stead.  I  send  you  likewise  such  pedlarie  pam- 
flets  and  three-halfpeny  ware  as  we  are  served 
with;  make  the  best  use  jon  can  of  them,  and  use 
your  owne  censure,  but  if  I  be  not  deceved  some  of 
the  satires  are  passable." 

He  refers  to  other  books  in  this : 

"The  French  Inventairie  is  not  come  forth,  the 
author  being  saide  to  be  dead,  but  there  is  hope 
it  will  be  found  among  his  papers.  Here  is  noth- 
ing come  out  this  last  mart  worth  the  looking 
after;  I  do  not  thincke  but  you  may  tit  your  self 
better  at  Middleburg,  for  that  many  times  thinges 
are  current  there  that  be  here  forbidden." 

Of  the  marriage  of  Bacon's  Cousin  Anne  Russell  he 
writes : 

"I  doubt  not  but  you  have  heard  of  the  great 

147 


manage  at  the  Lady  Russells,  where  the  Queue 
was  present,  being  caried  from  the  water  side 
in  a  curious  chaire  and  lodged  at  the  Lord  Cob- 
hams  ;  and  of  the  maske  of  eight  maides  of  honour 
and  other  gentlewomen  in  name  of  the  Muses  that 
came  to  seeke  one  of  theire  fellowes,  and  of  the 
knighting  of  Sir  Fetipher  with  many  goode  wordes 
more  then  God  knowes  he  was  worthy  of.  And  this 
being  siimma  totalis  of  that  I  have  to  say,  I  com- 
mend you  to  the  protection  of  the  Almighty. 
From  London,  this  24th  of  June,  IGOO. 
Yours  most  assuredl}', 

John  Chamberlain. 

And  again: 

"We  shall  have  the  great  marriage  on  Monday  at 
the  Lady  Russells,  where  it  is  saide  the  Queue  will 
vouchsafe  her  presence,  and  lie  at  the  Lord  Cham- 
berlains, or  the  Lord  Cobhams,  whose  marriage  is 
thought  likewise  shalbe  then  consummated  if  it 
be  not  don  already." 

Lady  Russell's  residence  was  close  to  the  Blackfriars 
Theatre. 

The  following  written  on  Feb.  15,  1598,  shows  the 
bickerings  at  Court  over  Essex : 

"Our  provisions  for  Ireland  go  forward  with 
leaden  feet,  and  the  Erie  of  Essex  conunission  is 
no  neerer  signing  (in  shew)  then  when  I  wrote 
last.  The  jarres  continue  as  they  did,  if  not  worse, 
by  daily  renewing,  and  our  musicke  runs  so  much 
upon  discords  that  I  feare  what  harmonic  they  will 
make  of  it  in  the  end.  Many  things  passe  which 
may  not  be  written;  but,  in  conclusion,  Iliacos 
intra  mtiros  peccatur  et  extra,  there  is  fault  on  all 
sides,  and,  quicqiiid  deli  rant  reges  plectuntur  Ach- 
ivi,  whosoever  offends  the  common  wealth  is  pun- 
ished." 

148 


In  this  same  letter  lie  says: 

"I   send  you  here   certain   odde  epitaphs   and 
epigranimes  that  go  under  the  name  of  pasquils/' 

(Jitcr// — Were  these  written  by  Nicholas  Breton?  He 
Avrote  '^Pasquils  Mad-Cap/'  and  *^ Pasquils''  of  other  sorts. 
Nicholas  Breton's  mother  was  a  daughter  of  John  Bacon. 
After  her  husband's  death  (who  left  her  a  rich  widow 
with  several,  children)  she  married  the  poet  George 
Gascoigne,  a  member  of  Gray's  Inn.  Gascoigne 
helped  in  the  Kenilworth  entertainment  given  in  honor 
of  the  Queen,  in  1575.  Nicholas  Breton  dedicated  '^Char- 
acters upon  Essaies,  Morall  and  Divine"  1615,  to  Sir 
Francis  Bacon. 


Shakespeare  sought  the  good  of  all  men.  He  above  all 
others  elevated  the  Actor,  and  uplifted  Dramatic  Art.  On 
March  10th,  1582,  Sir  Francis  Walsingham  sent  for  Ed- 
mund Tilney  "to  chuse  out  a  Company  of  Players  for  her 
]\[ajesty"  (see  Appendix  B.)  Query — Was  Hamlet's  in- 
structions to  the  Players,  originally  given  to  these  twelve 
men  who  were  chosen  for  the  Queene's  Players?  Later  on 
the  Poet  corrected,  and  added  many  lines  to  the  original 
sketch,  which  is  greatly  enlarged  in  the  first  Folio. 


149 


®   U^MiAj'tlii,  lilt  jtl  hk^<M^U/ M<mAJL/ M^ 

®    ^^//w    vO'cJlt/. 

©    /Oa^WL  OwU-'Jju  -Wub  hitu  UjalL. 


I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  'Charles  W.  F.  Goss,  F.  S.  A., 
Hon.  Librarian  and  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  London  and 
Middlesex  Archaeological  Society,  for  the  above  map  show- 
ing the  actual  site  of  Bacon's  House  in  Noble  Street,  and 
its  nearness  to  Silver  Street,  and  Muggle  Street. 


150 


SHAKESPEARE'S  LODGINGS  IN  SILVER  STREET. 

Wo  find  in  Harper's  Magazine  :\rar(li,  1910,  Dr.  W.  C 
Wallace,  throiijili  his  researches  in  the  l*nblic  Record  Of- 
fice, London,  discovered  the  earliest  known  sii^natnre  of 
Shakespeare,  dated  May  11,  1G12.  This  was  siij;ned  to  a 
deposition,  as  a  witness  in  the  Belott  i\  Montjoy  suit.  Dr. 
Wallace  discovered  that  Shakespeare  was  a  lodger  in  the 
house  of  ]Montjoy,  a  Tire-maker,  and  that  he  had  sojourned 
tliere  from  1598  to  1612. 

This  house  was  on  the  corner  of  Silver  and  Mugwell 
Streets,  in  a  zone  of  interesting  houses  filled  with  historical 
Elizabethens.  Bacon  House  was  in  Noble  Street,  and 
Stowe  says :  "Then  at  the  North  end  of  Noble  Street  is 
the  Parish  Church  of  Saint  Olave,  in  Silver  Street."  The 
only  monument  worth  Stowe's  notice  in  this  Church  was 
that  of  Lord  Windsor's  daughter,  who  died  in  1600. 

Bacon's  friend.  Lord  Windsor,  had  a  house  in  Mugwell 
(now  Monkwell)  Street.  Bacon's  father  owned  property 
in  the  Parish  of  St.  Botolph,  without  Bishops  Gate,  and 
in  the  Parish  of  St.  Lawrence  Old  Jewry. 

If  Francis  Bacon  befriended  Shakespeare,  as  I  think 
he  did,  the  Poet's  residence  in  the  house  of  the  Huguenot, 
Christopher  Montjoy,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  Anthony 
Bacon  sympathized  with  the  Huguenots.  His  long  resi- 
dence in  France  enabled  him  to  speak  French  perfectly, 
and  much  of  his  correspondence  was  in  French. 

One  of  his  familiar  friends,  Mr.  John  Castol,  was  the 
head  of  the  French  Church  in  Threadneedle  Street,  Lon- 
don, to  which  church  the  Belott  v.  Montjoy  suit  was  sent 
for  a  final  decision.  "Mr.  John  Castol  was  minister  of  the 
French  Church  from  1581  to  1601  and  was  succeeded  by 
Mr.  Abraham  Aurelius,  who  was  minister  from  1605  to 

1.51 


1631."  This  I  have  learned  from  Mr.  Charles  W.  F.  Goss, 
F.S.A.,  who  kindly  sent  me  the  information.  In  passing 
I  may  say  that  the  Huguenot  printer  and  bookseller, 
Astanius  De  Reinalme,  1580-1000,  who  resided  in  the 
Blackfriars,  named  in  his  will  one  Castol  of  the  French 
Church,  London.  Also  in  Minshu's  Diet.,  1625,  I  find 
among  the  Subscribers  ^the  Frencli  Church  Library  in 
London.' 

This  discovery  of  Dr.  Wallace  opens  up  a  new  vein  of 
inquiry  very  interesting  to  the  student.  I  find  that  Robert 
Cecil,  Earl  of  Salisbury,  in  his  Will  1612,  mentions 
Thomas  Belott.  His  father,  the  great  Burleigh,  had  a 
Steward  by  that  name. 

Barnaby  Riche  in  his  satirical  pamphlet,  'The  Honestie 
of  This  Age,'  1014,  pictures  for  us  the  trade  of  a  Tire- 
maker  as  follows: 

"I  would  be  loath  to  do  Minerva  wrong, 

To  forge  untruths,  or  deck  my  lynes  with  lyes ; 

I  can  not  fable,  flatter,  nor  disguise. 

Yet  mounted  now  on  Tyme's  discerning  stage, 


I  stand  to  note  the  Follies  of  this  Ai>e. 


Among  these  Follies,  Eiche  seems  to  be  particularly 
severe  on  Tire-makers  and  Tires.  Tliis  pamphlet  was 
printed  two  years  after  the  Belott  v.  Montjoy  suit.  It  is 
said  Shakespeare  was  indebted  to  'Eiche's  Farewell  to  tlie 
Militaire  Profusion,'  1581.  King  James  found  fault  witli 
this  book,  but  after  he  became  King  of  England  he  gave 
Eiche  a  gift  of  a  hundred  pounds  for  some  service  or 
other  performed  in  Scotland. 

According  to  Eiche  some  of  the  fine  ladies  in  their 
coaches  would  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  cry  of  beggars  and : 

'Let  them  cry  till  their  tongues  do  ake,  my  lady 
hath  neyther  eyes  to  see  nor  eares  to  heare,  slice 
holdeth  on  lier  way  to  tlie  Tyre-maker's  shoppe, 
where  shee  shaketh  out  her  crownes  to  bestowe  upon 
some  new  fashioned  attire,  that  if  we  may  say  there 

152 


be  deformitie  in  art,  upon  such  artificial  deformed 
periwigs  tliat  they  were  fitter  to  furnish  a  Theatre 
or  for  her  that  in  a  stage  phiy  shouhl  represent  some 
Hagge  of   Hell,   than   to  be  used  by  a  Christian 


Avoman.' 


Did  Mont  joy  make  female  wigs  for  the  boy-actors?  As 
Shakespeare  'sojourned'  in  liis  liouse  fifteen  years  I  have 
no  doubt  he  brought  him  much  Theatrical  trade.  Riche 
continues: 

'And  what  are  these  they  do  call  Attyre-makers? 
the  first  inventers  of  these  monsterous  periwigs? 
and  the  finders  out  of  very  many  other  like  immodest 
attyres?  What  are  these  and  all  the  rest  of  these 
fasliion  mongers?  *  *  *  if  you  will  not  acknowl- 
edge these  to  be  idolmakers,  yet  you  cannot  deny 
them  to  be  devil's  enginers,  ungodly  instruments  to 
decke  and  ornifie  such  men  and  women  as  may  well 
be  reputed  to  be  but  Idolle's'  *  *  *  'As  these  Attyre- 
makers  that  within  tliese  forty  years  were  not  known 
by  that  name,  and  but  nowe  very  lately  they  kept 
their  lowzie  commodities  of  periwigs,  and  their  other 
monstrous  attyres  closed  in  boxes,  they  might  not 
be  scene  in  open  show,  and  those  women  who  used 
to  weare  them  would  not  buy  them  but  in  secret. 
But  now  they  are  not  ashamed  to  sette  them  forth 
upon  their  stalls,  sucli  monstrous  May-poles  of 
hayre,  so  proportioned  and  deformed,  that  but  with- 
in these  tw^enty  yeares  would  have  drawn  the  passers 
by  to  stand  and  gaze,  and  to  wonder  at  them.  *  *  * 
The  ancient  Romanes  prohibited  all  sorts  of  people, 
as  well  men  or  women,  from  wearing  gaud3'  gar- 
mentes,  Players  and  Harletes  only  excepted;  for 
to  them  there  was  tolleration  in  regard  of  their 
professions.  *  *  *  And  from  whence  commeth 
this  wearing  and  imbrodering  of  long  lokes,  this 
curiositie  that  is  used  amongst  men  in  freziling  and 
curling  of   tlieir   hayre?   *   *    *   And   are   not   our 

153 


gentlemen  in  as  dangerous  a  plight  now,  (I  mean 
those  Apes  of  Fancy),  that  do  looke  so  like  Attyre- 
mal-ers  maydes,  that  for  the  dainty  decking  up  of 
themselves  might  sit  in  any  Seamsters  shop  in  all 
the  Exchange.' 

In  Warton's  Hist,  of  Poetry,  Vol.  Ill,  he  says: 

"On  St.  Olave's  day,  155",  the  holiday  of  the 
Church  in  Silver  Street,  which  is  dedicated  to  that 
Saint,  was  kept  with  much  solemnity.  At  eight  of 
the  clock  at  night  began  a  Stage-play,  of  goodly  mat- 
ter, being  the  miraculous  history  of  the  life  of  that 
saint,  which  continued  four  hours,  and  was  con- 
cluded with  many  religious  songs." 

Just  across  the  street  from  this  church  stood  Montjoy's 
house. 

Barber-Surgeons  Hall  was  also  in  Monkwell  Street.  In 
1596  Thomas  Nashe  in  ^Have  with  you  to  Saffron  Walden' 
writes : 

"Letters  do  you  term  them?  They  may  be  letters 
Patent  well  enough  for  their  tediousness;  for  no 
lecture  at  Surgeons  Hall  upon  an  Anatomie  may 
compare  with  them  in  longitude." 

Indicating  Nashe  attended  these  lectures. 
Walpole's  'Anecdotes  of  Painting  in  England,'  Vol.  1, 
p.  136,  has : 

"Of  Holbein's  public  works  in  England  I  find  an 
account  of  only  four.  The  first  is  that  capital  pic- 
ture in  Barber  Surgeons  Hall  of  Hen.  VIII.,  giving 
the  charter  to  the  companj'  of  Surgeons.  The  char- 
acter of  His  Majest3''s  bluff  haughtiness  is  well 
represented,  and  all  the  heads  are  finely  executed. 
The  picture  itself  has  been  retouched  but  it  is  well 
known  by  Barons  print.  The  physician  in  the  mid- 
dle, on  the  King's  left  hand,  is  Dr.  Butts,  immor- 
talized by  Shakespeare." 

154 


We  can  imagine  the  Poet  standing  before  this  great  pic- 
ture before  writing  lien.  VIII.  wherein  Dr.  Butts,  Bacon's 
relative,  is  one*  of  the  characters.  Both  Montjoy  and 
Bellott  seemed  to  have  engaged  two  Gray's  Inn  lawyers, 
George  Hartopp,  Mont  joy's  lawyer  was  admitted  to  Gray's 
Inn  April  21,  IGOO,  and  Bellott's  lawyer,  Ralph  Wormlaig- 
ton,  was  admitted  jMay  20,  1598.  Hartopp  was  the  son  of 
V^'m.  Hartopp  of  Burton  Lazars,  Co.  Leicester. 


I  think  one  of  Sir  George  Greenwood's  wonderfullv 
clever  books  "7s  There  A  ^Shakespeare  Problem?'-  has  been 
by  many  answered  in  the  affirmative. 

If  the  end  of  study  is  to  find  : 

^'TJtiiHj.s  hid  and  harrd  from  common  sense" 

it  seems  to  me,  the  one  who  dexterously  sails  clear  of  the 
Baconian  i^cijUa  and  the  Stratfordian  Charijhdis  will  the 
sooner  reach  the  shore  of  true  discovery. 

Time,  "the  author  of  authors" — the  father  of  Truth,  will 
reveal  the  Problem — if  there  is  one. 


155 


BACON'S  WAKWICKSHIEE  KINSMEN  AND  THE 

UNDERHILLS 

By  Ms  marriage  to  Bacon'vs  Aunt  Mildred  Cooke,  Wil- 
liam Cecil  took  an  immense  stride  foi'ward,  and  it  ad- 
vanced him  to  liigher  place.  Tlie  Cooke's  and  the  Bacon's, 
had  for  generations  followed  the  C'our-t,  and  were  allied 
to  the  ibest  families  in  England.  Pedigrees  were  William 
Cecil's  hobhy.  He  drew  up  a  numiber  of  genealogies  of 
the  Kings  and  Queens  of  England,  Germany,  and  France. 
Mildred  Cooke's  grandmother  was  a  Belknajj  of  the  illus- 
trious family  who  owned  large  manors  in  Wanvickshire 
and  elsewhere,  and  on  his  mother's  side  Robert  Cecil 
was  well  born.  The  Bacon's  Anthony  and  Francis,  could 
rightfully  claim  an  illustrious  ancestry  from  iboth  pater- 
nal and  maternal  progenitors. 

Augustus  Jessopp  in  "One  Generation  of  a  Norfolk 
House,"  tells  us  Father  Parsons  well  knew  Cecil's  weak- 
ness for  fictitious  pedigrees  and  says : 

"Cecil's  birth  was  comparatively  obscure,  at 
least  he  could  boast  of  no  forefathers  who  had 
belonged  to  the  English  gentry.  Cecil  knew  it, 
and  was  sore  at  the  thought;  but,  if  his  grand- 
father was  nobody,  might  not  his  remote  ancestors 
have  been  princes  and  nobles?  iSo  he  gave  himself 
to  genealogy,  and  was  forever  hunting  for  some 
pedigree  which  might  fit  on  to  himself  and  his 
progenitors;  this  pedigree  maldng  was  one  of  the 
great  man's  foibles.  In  the  iState  Paper  Office  and 
at  Hatfield  there  are  Avliole  volumes  full  of  these 
genealogical  notes,  and  it  appears  that  Cecil  never 
could  shake  off  the  fascination  which  such  re- 
searches exercised  over  his  mind. 

A   few   months    after    the   publication    of    the 

156 


edict,  and  imnuHliately  upon  tlie  completion  of  the 
first  draught  of  the  Answer  to  it,  a  copy  in  M,S. 
was  forwarded  to  the  Treasurer  by  one  of  his  spies 
in  Flanders.     €ei*il  was  gratified  hy  the  prompti- 
tude of  his  agent,  and  addressed  to  him  a  letter 
of  thanks  for  his  zeal,  and  at  the  same  time  added 
some    comments    upon    the    reply;     Parsons     had 
laughed  at  him  for  his  loAvly  Mrth,  retorting  upon 
him  a  sneer  which  the  edict  itself  contained,    (^ecil 
•  in  his  letter  had  betrayed  his  mortification,  and 
Avriting  to  the  spy,  entered  into  particulars  about 
his    supposed    ancestors,    claiming    descent    from 
Welsh  princes,  and  asserting  that  his  family  had 
originally  been  settled  at  iSitsil  in  Wales.     AVhen 
the  Responsio  was  published,  there  before  the  eyes 
of  amazed  Europe  was  Cecil's  own  letter,  trans-    .^ 
lated  into   Latin,   Avith   all  its   ridiculous   pi'eten- 
sions  exposed.     Parsons  Avas  vastly  pleased,  and     ^. 
made  himself  infinitely  anerry;  he  did  not  spare 
his  victim;  all  the  resources  of  sarcasm  and  irony 
were  used  to  sting  the  Treasurer,  and  Cecil,  deeply 
mortified,  writhed  under  the  lash.     Doubtless  all 
possible  means  were  used  to  keep  the  book  out  of 
Enoland :  but  besides  the  interest  which  the  Catho- 
lies    had   in   giving   it    a    wide   circulation,    there 
were  too  many  people  in  high  position,  Avho  had 
no  great  love  to  the  Lord  Treasurer,  to  allow  of 
such  a  bonne  bouche  as  this  bitter  and  telling  at- 
tack  to   remain   unknoAvn,    unread    and     unsold. 
Vexed  and   intensely   mortified,    Cecil    was    weak 
enough  to  betray  the  pain  of  the  sting;  and  when 
Philopater's  ibook  could  no  longer  be  sui>prcssed, 
w^ith  figety  ill-temper  he  printed  a  sort  of  reply, 
trying  to  make  the  best  of  an  attack  which  might 
more  safely  have  been  left  alone." 

The  ancestor  of  Sir  Mcholas  Bacon  Ivnt.  Lord  Keeper 
of  the  Great  Seal,  Avas  Grimbaldus,  a  Xornian  related 

157 


to  William  Earl  Warren,  witli  whom  he  came  into  Eng- 
land at  the  Conquest. 

In  1402  a  Will  Bakon  was  Prior  of  the  Convent  de 
Marstoke  Warwick.  The  Belknaps  owned  manors  in 
AYliitechurch,  Kingswood,  and  Griffe  all  in  the  county 
of  Warwickshire,  pp.  771-2  Dugdale.  Whitechurch  was 
just  5^  miles  from  fStratford-on-Avon,  and  I  find  Nich- 
olas Underhill  was  an  incumbent  of  White  Church  in 
1'571  to  Avhich  he  was  presented  fby  Bacon's  kinsman, 
Anthony  Cooke  Ar.  P  484  Ibid.  This  Underhill  was 
related  to  the  Underhills  who  owned  Xew  Place  after- 
wards OA\Tied  :by  (Shakespeare. 

This  is  the  earliest  link  I  find  between  the  Cooke 
family  and  the  Underhills.  The  Lord  Chancellor  Bacon 
in  1618  drew  up  a  list  of  his  men  servants  Avherein  he 
vnames  one  Underhill,  one  of  his  gentlemen  waiters. 
Query,  Could  this  have  been  the  gentleman  Usher,  who 
shortly  after  Lord  Verulam's  death  married  his  widow? 
I'm  inclined  to  think  so. 

The  Cooke's  were  connected  with  the  Belknaps,  KShel- 
ley's  Sudeley's  and  with  "that  great  family  of  Montford 
Lords  of  Belderset"  in  Warwickshire.  The  Belknaps 
owned  the  Manor  of  Henley  in  Arden,  situated  in  the 
Forest  of  Ardeu.  Henry  VII  granted  Wedgnock  Park  with 
the  gardens  and  waters  in  the  Park  to  Edward  Belknap 
Esq.,  of  the  body  for  life.  Dugdale  says  "this  is  one  of 
the  most  ancient  Parks  in  England,"  and  further: 
"Which  Sir  EdAvard  *  *  *  being  a  man  of  great  note, 
had  his  residence  here  and  rebuilt  the  manor  house,  one 
of  the  fairest  structure  of  Timber  that  I  have  seen.  On 
several  parts  whereof  his  Arms  are  cut  in  wood  quar- 
tering the  coats  of  Sudley,  Montfert,  and  Boteler,  and 
by  his  last  will  and  Testiment  dated  12  Hen  8.  be- 
queathed it  to  dame  Alice  his  wife  for  term  of  her  life, 
after  which  it  came  to  John  Shelley  Esq  cousin  and  heir 
to  the  said  EdAvard  by  Alice  his  sister."  Dugdale  pp. 
199-200. 

158 


Bacon  House  in  London  was  formerly  called  Shelley 
House.  In  1577  William  Fleetwood  the  Recorder  of 
London  writes  the  following  letter  from  Bacon  House 
to  Lord  Burleigh,  Avherein  he  pictures  Bacon's  grand- 
mother, widow  of  vSir  Anthony  Cooke,  in  all  her  state, 
and  also,  speaks  of  '^Mrs  Blackwells  house  in  the  Black- 
friars."  This  was  the  house  which  adjoined  the  one  sold 
to  Shakespeare  in  1612-13. 

*  *  */  Vpon  Thursday  last  Mr  Garter  and 
]S''orthway  not  as  kynges  but  as  ffrendes,  Avt  Mr 
Thomas  Pole  and  myself  were  at  Romford  at  the 
burying  of  mr  iQade  of  the  Duchie  we  did  weare 
black/  At  dyner  Mr  Pole  taryed  not,  for  he  had 
taken  a  great  surfett  wt  eating  of  fresh  pork  the 
day  before  at  the  Musters/  The  Deane  of  Powies 
preached/  At  the  Sermon  was  my  w^orshipfull 
frynde  mrs  Cook  of  Grwydy  hall  and  her  gentle- 
Avonian  and  trayne,  but  she  Avould  not  tarry  djner/ 
Katheryn  Carus  the  late  Justice  wiffe  my  Contry 
w^oman  wt  all  her  pryde  and  popery  is  this  w^eek 
gone  (as  I  trust)  to  god/  she  died  in  Bisshop 
Thirlbys  chamber  in  mrs  Blackwells  howse  in  the  \ 
black  ffyers/ 

So  when  we  consider  Francis  Bacon's  maternal  family 
the  Cooke's  were  related  to  so  many  of  the  great  War- 
wickshire families  my  conjecture  that  Bacon  met  Shake- 
speare in  his  youth  when  visiting  in  Warwickshire,  may 
be  more  than  a  fine  theory. 

Through  the  Montferts  the  Cloptons  came  into  pos- 
session of  Clopton  in  Hen  HI.  time.  "Peter  de  Montfert 
granted  it  to  James  de  Oopton  and  his  heirs  by  the  name 
of  the  Mannour  of  Clopton."  Dugdale.  The  Montferts 
also  ow^ied  all  the  village  of  Charlecote  and  in  Rich  I. 
time  gave  it  to  Walter.  "This  W^alter  w\as  Paternally  a 
Montfert"  and  from  this  Walter  (who  was  a  Ivnt.) 
descended  William  that  assumed  the  name  of  Lucy" 
ihid. 

159 


"Idlicote  in  33  Hen.  8,  was  given  to  Thomas 
Cawarden  Esq  &  Eliza  liis  wife,  and  his  lawful 
heirs.  He  left  no  heirs,  and  in  4.  Eliza,  she  grant- 
ed it  to  Ludwick  Greville  and  others  but  soon 
after  to  Underhill  as  it  seems  for  in  12  Eliza,  did 
Will  Underhill  die  seized  thereof,  leaving  Will  his 
son  &  heir  XIII.  years  of  age  &  upwards  whose 
granchild  Sir  Hercules  Underhill  Kt.  now  en- 
joys it."     Dugdale  458. 

In  his  choice  of  a  second  wife  the  great  Cecil  made 
no  mistake.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  he  was  a  very 
great  man,  and  had  the  ability  to  sway  Elizabeth  by 
making  her  believe  she  governed  England.  In  this  way 
he  became  as  Francis  Baeon  called  him  "the  Atlas  of  this 
Commonwea  1th. " 

That  courteous  gentleman  Sir  Thomas  Copley  related 
to  the  Cooke's  through  the  Belknaps,  and  so  persecuted 
for  his  religion  writes  to  Burleigh  from  Paris  21  of 
July  1580: 

Right  Honorable 

(My  dewtie  promised  after  I  had  flnissed  my 
other  long  letter  to  your  Lordship  to  move  the 
same  to  be  the  more  favorable  to  me.  *  *  *  But 
massife  thing  or  of  great  value  I  resolved  with 
my  self  was  not  to  be  sent,  as  well  becaus  my 
tliinn  purse  was  not  babble  to  yieeld  gowlden 
guiftes,  as  chieefly  for  the  experience  I  have  had 
of  your  Lordship's  great  and  incorrupted  mynde, 
utterli  avertid  from  the  receivyng  of  suche  pres- 
ents, *  *  *  In  the  end  came  to  my  minde  a 
Jewell  I  had  that  I  thought  could  not  be  but  very 
welcome  to  your  Lordship  to  witt  a  Genealogie 
of  nij  Lady"  [who  was  his  second  cousin]  "your 
wive's  house  by  the  Belknap  his  side.  I  thought 
once  to  have  made  a  fayr  coppie  of  it  to  send  to 
your  Lordship,  but  after  considering  that  neither 

160 


this  Avookl  put  ill  liazarde  to  lose  the  coininodite 
of   the   next   i)Ost,   Avhich   woold   be   a    great   hin- 
drance to  nie   (and  a  protraction  of  the  speed  I 
Avishe  and  my  case  requirith  in  the  ansAver  of  my 
snite)   and  therewitlial  weyeng  that  in  these  mat- 
ters of  pedigrees  shewe  of  antiquite  geevith  more 
antherite  than  nneness  and  ibeautie,  I  did  rather 
choose  to  malve  present  to  your  Lordship  even  of 
my  original!,  and  for  myself  at  laisure  to  take  an- 
other coppie  out  of  that  my  coosen  Bacon    [An- 
thonv  Bacon  who  was  then  in  Paris]  made  to  be 
drawn  out  of  myne,  which  of  late  I  lent  him  to  that 
end.    I  pray  your  Lordship  accept  it  at  my  hands 
herewith  in  good  parte,  for  if  I  had  ought  that  I 
thought  might  geeve  your  Lordship  more  content- 
ment, I  w^ould  have  sent  it.     Thereby  my  coosins 
your  children  may  perceeve  that  as  your  Lordship 
geevith  very  good  accompt  of  their  gentell  bludd 
on  their  father's  side  so  they  want  not  on  their 
mother's  side  to  make  any  of  them  heerafter  capa- 
ble  of  the  best  commandree   may   fault   in   that 
realme  or  ells  wheare,  or  of  any  other  order  crosse 
or  chanourie  either  for  men  or  for  lady's  wherof 
lieer  abrode  ther  be  store  for  the  maytenance  of 
the  yoonger  brood  of  noble  houses"     .     .     . 

Your  good  Lordships  very  fast  and  assured  at 
commandment  during  life 

T.  Copley,    i^tatc  Papers  Born.  Eliz-.  c.ri.  27 


161 


WAS  ANNE  CECIL  THE  PROTOTYPE  OF  HELENA 

IN  "ALL'S  WELL"? 

Edward  de  Vere  the  seventeentli  Earl  of  Oxford  wlio 
broke  the  heart  of  Bacon's  cousin  Anne  Cecil,  !by  in- 
human treatment,  Avas  admitted  to  Gray's  Inn  in  1567. 
Robert  Greene  dedicated  to  him  in  1584  ^'The  Garde  of 
Fancied'  The  character  of  this  nobleman  was  despica- 
ble. His  name  is  not  mentioned  among  those  who  wit- 
nessed the  Gesta-  Grai/oriwi  for  he  was  not  esteemed 
by  the  Bacons,  the  'Cecils  or  any  of  their  friends.  Sir 
Egerton  Brydges  in  his  Reprint  of  ^^The  Paridise  of 
Dainty  Devices"  referring  to  Oxford  says: 

"His  character  seems  to  have  been  marked  with 
haughtiness,  vanity,  and  affectation.  He  aped  Ital- 
ian dresses,  and  was  called  the  Mirrour  of  Tus- 
canismo.  His  rank  however,  and  his  illustrious 
family  commanded  the  respect  of  a  large  portion  of 
the  literary  world;  and  among  his  eulogists,  were 
Watson,  Lily,  Golding,  Munday,  Greene,  Lock, 
and  Spenser." 
Young  Talbot  writing  to  his  parents  says: 

"My  Lo.  of  Oxforth  is  lately  growne  into  great 
credite;  for  the  Q.'  Matie  delitithe  more  in  his  par- 
sonage, and  his  daunsinge,  and  valientnes,  then 
any  other:  I  tliinke  Sussex  dotlie  back  him  all 
that  he  can;  if  it  were  not  for  his  fyckle  hed  he 
would  passe  any  of  them  shortly.  My  Lady  Burgh- 
ley  unwisely  hathe  declared  herselfe,  as  it  were, 
gelious,  wch  is  come  to  the  Queue's  eare;  wherear 
she  hathe  bene  not  a  litell  offended  Avth  hir,  but 
now  she  is  reconsiled  agayne.  At  all  tlieise  love 
matters  my  Lo.  Treasurer  winketh,  and  Avill  not 
meddle  any  way."    Lodge  lUs.  Vol.  II. 

162 


In  a  note  Lodge  observes : 

"This  was  Edward  de  Vere,  the  seventeenth 
Earl  of  Oxford  of  his  family.  The  folloAving  an- 
ecdote confirms  Mr.  Talbot's  hint  of  his  eccentric 
character.  When  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  whom  he 
entirely  loved,  was  condemned,  he  api)lied  to  Lord 
Burghley,  whose  daughter  he  had  married,  pas- 
sionately beseeching  him  to  interfere  in  the  Duke's 
behalf;  but  his  request  being  refused,  he  told 
Burghley,  with  the  greatest  fury,  that  he  would  re- 
venge himself  by  ruining  the  Countess:  And  he 
made  his  threat  good;  for  from  that  hour  he  treat- 
ed her  Avith  the  most  shocking  brutality,  and,, 
having  broke  her  heart,  sold  and  dissipated  the 
most  part  of  his  great  fortune.  He  died  June  24, 
1604." 

The  Earl  of  Oxford^s  cavillations  contra  LorD' 
Burghley.  [Written  in  Burleigh's  hand.] 

[157G.] — Injuries  and  unkind  parts  [of  the 
Earl]  :  leaving  his  issue  female  unprovided  of  land;: 
rejecting  his  wife  at  her  coming  to  him  without 
cause  shewed;  continuing  to  forbear  from  her  com- 
pany without  cause ;  detaining  her  apparel,  and  all 
her  chamber  stuff  for  the  space  of  three  months;; 
suffering  false  reports  to  be  made  touching  her 
honesty;  quarrelling  against  the  Lord  Treasurer 
for  matters  untrue  and  of  no  value,  that  is  to 
say:— 

[Cavillations.] 

1.  That  Clopton  and  Faunt  were  by  him  main- 
tained. 

2.  That  Denny,  the  French  boy,  and  others, 
that  lay  in  wait  to  kill  Clopton,  were  punished 
by  the  Lord  Treasurer. 

3.  That  he  had  not  his  money  made  over 
sea  so  speedily  as  he  desired. 

163 


4.  That  liis  wife  Avas  most  directed  by  her 
father  and  mother. 

5.  That  Hubbard  would  not  deliver  to  the 
Earl  his  writings,  wherein  he  was  maintained  by 
the  Lord  Treasurer. 

[Answers.] 

They  were  committed  by  the  Lord  Treasurer, 
and  no  cause  could  be  shewed  of  their  desert,  and 
they  were  set  at  liberty  iby  the  Earl  himself  with- 
out knowledge  of  the  Lord  Treasurer. 

They  were  imj^risoned  by  order  of  the  Queen 
given  to  her  Council,  as  they  deserved. 

He  had  in  one  year  3,0007.  and  2,700Z.  by  the 
credit  of  the  Lord  Treasurer,  when  the  Earl's  mon- 
ey could  not  be  had. 

iShe  must  ibe  most  directed  by  her  parents  Avlien 
she  had  no  house  of  the  Earl's  to  go  to,  and  in  her 
sickness  and  childbed  only  looked  to  by  her  par- 
ents. 

He  offered  to  deliver  all,  so  he  might  be  saved 
harmless  against  the  Earl's  creditors,  who  threat- 
ened to  arrest  him.    CaV  Hatfield  MSS.  Vol.  11.  P. 

The  following  excerpts  are  from  the  European  Maga- 
zine, June  1788,  p.  389 : 

"To  the  Editor  of  the  European  Magazine 
iSiR^ 

The  enclosed  epitaphs  form  part  of  a  poetical 
collection,  addressed  to  the  Right  Honourable  the 
Earl  of  Oxenfordy  &c.  by  one  John  Southern,  4to.  • 
black  letter,  the  title-page  wanting.  This  book  is 
so  rare,  that  no  other  fragment'  of  it  appears 
to  have  been  met  with  by  the  most  vigilant  among 
our  ancient  and  modern  collectors.  .  .  .  His 
patron,  Edward  Vere,  the  seventeenth  Earl  of  Ox- 
ford,  flourished   early  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth, 

164 


and  died  at  an  advanced  age,  in  the  second  year 
of  her  successor. 

*  *  *  The  name  of  his  Conntess,  liowever, 
(who  was  Anne,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  fa- 
mous Cecil  Lord  iBurleigh)  not  being  inserted  in 
any  catalogue  of  rhyming  Peeresses,  I  send  you 
four  of  her  productions,  undoubtedly  printed  in 
her  lifetime  by  Master  Southern  aforesaid;  and 
trust  that  I  have  thereby  ascertained  her  right  to 
a  place  in  some  future  edition  of  Mr.  Walpole's 
very  instructive  and  entertaining  work. 

*  *  *  A  modern  reader  will  feel  himself  lit- 
tle interested  by  the  mythological  lamentations 
of  the  Countess.  Lady  Oxford,  perhaps,  only 
aimed  at  the  character  of  a  poetess,  because  her 
mother  had  been  attached  to  literature,  and  poetry 
was  the  favorite  amusement  of  her  husband.  She 
died  at  Queen  Elizabeth's  court  at  Greenwich, 
June  6,  1588,  and  on  the  25th  was  pompously  in- 
terred in  Westminster  Abbey.    *    *    *    " 

The  babe  whom   the  Countess   mourns   so    dolefully 
was  born  in  1576  and  only  lived  two  days. 

"IX  Dolefull  wayes  I  spend  the  wealth  of  my  time, 
Feeding  on  my  heart  that  ever  comes  a  gen, 
Since  the  ordinances  of  the  Destins  hath  ben 
To  end  of  the  Saissons  of  my  yeares  the  prime. 

With   my   sonne,   my   gold,   niy   nightingale,    and 
rose*. 
Is  gone;  for  t'was  in  him  and  no  other  where: 
And   well   though   mine   eies    run    downe   like 
fountaines  here. 
The  stone  wil  not  speake  yet,  that  doth  it  enclose. 
And,  Destins  and  Gods,  you  might  rather  have 
tanne 

*"Gold.  the  best  of  all  mettelles :   nightingale,   the  sweetest  of  all 
byrdes ;  and  roses,  the  fairest  of  all  flowers." 

165 


My  tweiitie  3'eeres,  tlian  the  two  dales  of  my 
Sonne. 
And  of  this  world  what  shall  I  hope,  since  I  knoe 
That  in  his  respect  it  can  yeeld  me  but  mosse; 
Or  what  should  I  consume  any  more  in  woe, 

When  Destins,  Gods,  and  Worlds  are  all  in  any 
losse. 

She  was  married  at  the  age  of  fifteen.    The  date  of  the 
year  of  her  marriage  would  determine  that  of  her  verses. 

THE  lievens,  death,  and  life,  have  conjured  my  yll, 
For  death  hath  take  away  the  breath  of  my 

Sonne : 
The  hevens  receve,  and  consent,  that  he  hath 
donne, 
And  my  life  dooth  keepe  me  heere  against  my  will. 
But  if  our  life  be  caus'de  with  moisture  and 

heate, 
I  care  neither  for  the  death,  the  life,  nor  skies ; 
For  I'll  sigh  him  wannth,  and  weat  him  with 
any  eies, 
(And  thus  I  shall  be  thought  a  second  Promet.) 

And  as  for  life,  let  it  doo  ane  all  despite; 

For  if  it  leave  me,  I  shall  goe  to  my  childe ; 
And  it  in  the  hevens,  there  is  all  any  delyght, 
Aaid  if  I  live,  any  vertue  is  immortal : 
So  that  the  hevens,  death  and  life,  w^hen  they 

doo  all 
Their   force,  by  sora'owful   vertue  th'   are   be- 
guild. 

IDALL  for  Adon  nev'r  shed  so  aaaaaay  tea  res, 

Nor  Thef  for  Pelidj  aior  Phaehus  for  Hyacin- 

thias ; 
Nor  for  Atis  the  mother  of  Prophetesses, 

As  for  the  death  of  Bulhecke  the  Oods  have  cares. 

166 


At  the  brute  of  it  the  A j)h rodifan  Queene 
'Caused  more  silver  to  distyll  fro  her  eyes 
Tlieu  wlieu  the  droppes  of  her  clieekes  raysed 
Daisyes, 

And  to  die  with  him,  mortal  1  she  would  have  beene. 
The  Charits  for  it  breake  their  peruqs  of  golde, 
The  Muses,  and  the  Ni/mphcs  of  the  eaves,  I 
beholde 

All  the  Gods  under  Olympus  are  eonstraint 
On  Laches,  CJothon,  and  Atrojms  to  plaine; 

And  yet  beautie  for  it  doth  make  no  complaint, 
For  it  liv'd  with  him,  and  died  with  him  againe. 

Others  of  the  FOWRE  LAST  LYXES  of  other  that 
she  made  also. 

11.  MY  Sonne  is  g'one,  and  with  it  death  and  my 

sorrow : 

12.  But  death  makes  mee  aunswere,  Madame, 

cease  these  niones, 

13.  My  force  is  but  on  bodies   of  blood  and 

bones ; 
11.    And   that   of  yours   is    no    more   now   but   a 
shadow." 

The  Countess   appeals   to   death   to    end   her   sorrow 
tind  death  answers: 

"My  force  is  but  on  bodies  of  blood  and  bones; 
And  that  of  3^ours  is  no  more  now  but  a  shadow." 

In  Alls  Well,  Act  VIII,  Helena  who  is  supposed  to 
be  dead  enters  and  the  King*  exclaims: 
Is"t  real,  that  I  see? 
Helen  replies : 

No,  my  good  lord; 

'Tis  but  a  shadow  of  a  wife  vou  see, 
The  name,  and  not  the  thing. 
In  3  Hen.  VI.  11,  5,  there  is  a  line  which   reminds 
one    of   the   following    Epitaph    of    the    broken    hearted 
mother : 

'•M}'  heart,  sweet  boy,  shall  be  thy  sepulchre." 

167 


>y 


11.  AMPHION's  wife  was  turned  to  a  roeke. 

12.  How  well  I  hade  beene,  had  I  had  such 

adventure, 

13.  For  then  I  might   againe   have   been   the 

Sepulcure 

11.  Of  him  that  I  bare  in  mee  so  long  ago." 

After  the  death  of  her  son  the  Countess  of  Oxford 
bore  a  daughter  on  May  20th  1587  who  became  the  wife 
of  Philii^  Herbert  Earl  of  Montgomery  in  IGOS. 

There  is  a  passage  in  Osborn's  '^'Traditional  Memoirs 
1G89,  P.  456,  which  helps  to  confirm  my  belief  that  the 
17th  Earl  of  Oxford  was  Shakespeare's  Bertram.  Refer- 
ring to  the  fickle  worthless  affections  of  James  I.  Os- 
borne says:  "But  however  remote  his  affections  Avere,, 
he  durst  not  banish  Ramsey  the  Court,  a  poor  satisfac- 
tion for  [Philip]  Her'bert,  that  was  left  nothing  to  tes- 
tifle  his  manhood  but  a  beard  and  children,  by  that 
daughter  of  the  last  great  Earl  of  Oxford,  tvhose  lady  was 
hroivght  to  his  Bed  under  the  notion  of  his  Mistress,  and 
from  such  a  virtuous  deceit  she  is  said  to  proceed.'" 

Did  Shakespeare  learn  from  Francis  Bacon  the  secret 
of  his  cousin's  sorrow?  Osborne  was  Philip  Herbert's 
Master  of  the  Horse.  He  was  also  acquainted  with  the 
great  Bacon,  and  greatly  admired  him.  A  John  Osborn  of 
Kyrby  Byden  in  Norfolk  married  Alice  daugliter  of 
Henry  Bacon  of  Norwich.  Perhaps  Francis  Osborn  was 
connected  with  this  family. 

The  King  in  ''AlVs  Well  that  Ends  Weir  has  a 
malady  that  is  pronounced  incurable  by  his  physicians. 
Bertram  (Act  I.  11)   asks: 

Ber.     What   is   it   my   good    lord   the    King   lan- 
guishes of? 
Laf en  answers : 

A  fistula,  my  lord. 

Ber.     I  heard  not  of  it  before. 

Laf.     I  would  it  were  not  notorious. 

Queen   Elizabeth   had   long   suffered   Avitli    this    very 

disease — a  fistula  in  her  leg. 

168 


APPENDIX    A. 

HISTORY  OP  THE  MANOR  AND  ANCIENT 
BARONY  OF  CASTLE  COMBE  IN  THE  COUN- 
TY OF  WILTS,  BY  G.  POULETT  SCROPE, 
ESQ.,  M.  P.     1852. 

(Mem. — The  passages  witliin  brackets  are  the  varia- 
tions or  additions  made  in  the  eomphiint  as  sent  in  to 
Falstoff's  executors.) 

It  is  to  remembre  that  in  the  flrste  yere  that  my  moder 
was  niaried  to  my  fader  Fastolf,  he  of  his  plesure  solde 
me  to  William  Gascoyne,  that  tynie  chief  justice  of  this 
land,  for  v.c.  marke.  The  wich  he  had  in  his  possession 
a  iij.  yere.  Thorugh  the  wiche  sale  I  tooke  sekenesses 
that  kept  me  a  xiij.  or  xiiij.  yere  swyng:  whereby  I  am 
disfigured  in  my  persone  and  shall  be  whilst  I  lyve. 

Item,  he  bought  me  ayene,  and  than  was  I  serteyn 
yeris  under  his  governaunce,  in  siche  penurie  that  I  was 
fayne  to  selle  a  place  in  Kent  called  Hevre  for  v.c.  marcs, 
and  therewith  I  put  myself  into  service  with  my  lord  of 
Gloucestre.  My  seid  fader  conseyving  that,  sent  to  my 
seide  moder  siche  lettres  as  plesed  hym,  thurgh  the  wich 
I  was  feyne  to  go  to  hym  over  the  see,  with  a  yoman 
and  a  page  on  myn  owne  coste,  God  knoweth  I  beyng 
that  tyme  right  seeke. 

Item,  whan  I  was  comyn  to  hym,  it  plesed  hym  than 
of  his  grace  to  showe  me  so  good  fader-hoode,  that  I  was 
right  glad  to  wayte  opon  hym  to  do  hym  service,  though 
I  were  unworthy;  he  promyssing  at  that  tyme  to  make 
me  yerely  iij.  tymes  worthe  the  lodechip  of  Wyghton 
(under  the  Wold  in  Yorkshire,  the  wich  is  xl  the  yere.) 

Item,  than  I  obeyed  his  desire,  and  lefte  my  lorde  of 
Gloucestris  service,   thurgh   the  wiche  I  loste  his   good 

1G9 


lordecliip,  whereas,  lie  was  set  at  that  tyme  to  a  put  me 
in  possession  of  the  He  of  Man;  or  elles  I  have  had  a 
reasonable  recompense  therefore,  as  Sir  William  Cheney, 
that  tyme  chief  justice,  sent  me  woorde  to  Honnefieu  be 
a  man  that  was  with  hym,  the  Avich  levith  yit,  (called 
William  Marchall.) 

Item,  than  I  served  the  king  and  my  seid  fader  at 
Honnefleu  as  I  coude,  unto  the  tvme  that  mv  seyde  fader 
took  partie  with  the  marchall  of  the  town  more  than  with 
me  that  was  his  son  in  lawe  and  his  servaunt,  the  wich 
methought  an  unkyndenes,  I  beyng  in  the  right  (and  they 
in  the  wrong). 

Item,  than  be  his  licence  I  come  into  Yngland  to  my 
seid  moder;  and  I  was  not  there  fully  a  yere,  but  that  he 
sente  home  worde  that  I  sholde  paie  for  my  mete  and 
my  drynke  (or  be  voided),  I  havyng  no  lyveloode  where- 
with to  paie  (for  I  was  ever  afore  in  his  governance), 
wich  caused  me  to  marie  for  default,  and  not  al  ther 
moste  to  myn  availe.  But  I  was  fayne  to  take  the  tyme 
as  it  come.  (Then  was  I  feyn  to  schyfte  me  by  marriage, 
as  God  wolde  geve  me  grace;  God  knoweth  whate  hyn- 
deraunce  y  hadde  by  that  marriage  with  hys  menye,  the 
which  hurte  y  canne  welle  tell  and  y  schalle.) 

Item,  the  seid  mariage  of  necessite  caused  me  to  be 
l)ounde  in  siche  bondes  that  ever  sitliyn  I  have  levyed 
in  grete  peyne  and  thought,  or  ellis  I  had  not  endured 
as  I  have  don  hiderto;  and  yit  it  myght  not  wele  aben 
as  it  is  of  myn  labour  withoute  the  grete  grace  of  God: 
for  be  straunche  menes  thurogh  a  sute  made  be  my  seid 
fader,  I  was  dissessed  of  all  the  lyveloode  that  I  had  be 
my  mariage,  liavynge  wyff  and  childer  and  serteyn  ser- 
vaunts :  and  so  endured  iij.  yere  withoute  any  refuge  save 
of  God. 

Item,  than  for  very  nede  I  was  fayne  to  selle  a  litill 
doughter  I  have,  for  myche  lesse  than  I  sholde  a  don  be 
possibilite,  wherewith  I  lyve  yit,  and  have  litill  ellis,  but 
if  it  be  mete  and  drinke:  the  wich  as  in  that  it  is  better 

170 


tliau  I  am  wortlie,  so  that  I  liad  assigned  me  a  dute  to 
have  lyved  with. 

Item,,  notwithstanding-  the  j>ret  payne  that  I  have  en- 
<lnred,  I  am  in  (h)ute  that  aftir  the  dyssese  of  my  seid 
fa(h'r,  siche  lyveloode  as  I  am  borne  to  have,  shiilde  stande 
in  siche  trouble  be  the  mene  of  certyn  astates  and 
feoft'ements  made  unto  diveree  persones  unknowen  to  me, 
be  my  seid  fader,  that  I  shoulde  not  mow  esyly  entre 
without  trouble:  for  nowthir  I  knowe  ^^ilere  to  have  the 
evidences  that  longeth  to  the  seid  lyveloode,  ne  the  entent 
of  the  seide  feoff ementis;  ne  no  man  for  me  that  I  wote 
of. 

Item,  lowly  besechyng  my  seid  fader  to  remembre  with 
these  premisses  how  longe  that  he  hath  had  the  seid 
l^^veloode  that  I  am  born  to,  and  under  what  forme  as 
in  stroppe  and  waste:  for  me  semeth  every  forme  under 
the  sotilte  of  law^e  is  no  clere  concience.  The  wich  materes 
me  seid  fader  can  conseyve  myche  better  than  ever  I 
€oude*  (Afterwards  corrected  into,  Item,  entirely  be- 
sechyng you  to  remembre  with  these  premisses  how  longe 
that  he  hath  had  the  seid  lyveloode  that  I  am  born  to; 
and  under  what  forme,  and  what  waste  there  hathe  be 
done  be  him,  to  make  siche  restitucion  as  the  soule  may 
be  eased,  and  that  I  may  have  cause  to  pray  therefore.) 

In  a  later  draft  the  last  two  paragraphs  are  omitted, 
and  the  following  substituted  for  them. 

Item,  my  seyde  fader  outelawed  me  for  the  sum  of 
xl.li.  or  ever  y  wyste  thereof,  the  which  y  wolde  not  had 
bene  done  for  a  MMi.  and  yet  he  had  certeyn  plate  and 
stuffe  of  myn,  which  ys  remembred  in  myn  owne  fadres 
testement,  to  the  valew  of  ij°,  li.  or  more. 

Item,  he  hath  kepte  fro  me  sith  my  seyde  moder  dis- 
sessed,  ayenste  all  gode  conscyence  or  tytylle  of  lawe, 
ij.  maneres,  Oxendon  and  Hamthwayte,  and  they  amounte 
yerely  a  xlvj.li.    Sum  yn  xiiii.  jere,  vj^  xliiij.  li. 

Item,  he  hath  kepte  fro  me  as  longe  xx.  li.  yerely  of 
the  maner  of  Wyghton,   the  whych  he  promysed  me   to 

171 


have  had  at  the  dyssesse  of  my  seyde  modyr,  whereof  y 
had  the  fiirste  yere  xv.li.  at  hys  coinmandenient,  payed 
by  the  handys  of  hys  servaimte  Howes :  the  resydew  hereof 
draweth  a  ij".  Ixv.li. 

Item,  there  ys  loste  of  myn  enherytaiince  by  my  seyde 
faders  defaiite,  viij.li.  in  Castelcombe  and  xl.  s.  in  Bent- 
ley;  the  purchase  hereof,  after  xx*'  wyntres  purchase, 
amounteth  ij".  li. 

Item,  he  hath  done  grete  waste  in  my  seyde  enhery- 
taunce,  the  whych  canne  not  be  restored  wyth  a  MMi., 
and  he  hath  had  it  li.j-  yer  and  more,  and  in  alle  that 
tyme  never  dyd  it  gode,  but  wastyd  it.  And  to  conceyve, 
forthir,  sith  my  seyde  modyr  dyssessyd,  hath  had  it 
ayenste  alle  gode  conscyence,  savynge  by  myn  agremeut/® 
for  the  gode  wylle  that  y  had  to  liym,  the  whych  gode 
wvlle  mesemeth  wolde  be  concvdered. 

Then  follows  his  general  Bill  of  Charges  against  the 
estate  of  Fastolf  for  these  damages  and  losses: 

In  the  firste  yere  that  my  fader  Fastolf  was  marled  to 
my  moder  he  solde  me  for  v*'.  marcs,  withoute  any  titill 
or  right,  thorugh  which  sale  as  in  this  worlde  my  per- 
sone  was  disfigured  for  ever.  Wherfor  I  clayme  the  seid 
some  of  v'',  marks,  without  the  hurt  of  my  disfiguryng. 

Item,  he  bought  me  ayene;  so  he  bought  me  and  soilde 
me  as  a  beste,  ayens  al  ryglit  and  lawe,  to  myn  hurt  more 
than  M\  marks. 

Item,  be  a  deceit  he  kept  from  me  xxx"  yeres  togedir 
and  more  xl.li.  worthe  of  lyveloode,  in  a  toune  called 
Wyghton  undir  the  Wolde,  in  Yorkshire,  for  the  whiche 
I  clayme  restitution  by  the  saide  time  of  xijMi.  withoute 
the  ruyuoste  of  my  lyvelode. 

Item,  he  kept  fro  me,  ayens  all  lawe  and  right,  two 
manoires,  that  is  to  say,  Oxendon  and  Hamthwayte,  xv. 
yeres,  the  which  ar  worth  xlvj.li.  in  yerely  value,  for  the 
which  I  aske  to  have  vjMiij^'.x.li. 

^■^This  passage  proves  that  Stephen  Scrope  had.  as  previously  sug- 
gested, confirmed  the  settlement  made  by  his  mother  on  Fastolf  in  1410 
of  a  life-interest  in  these  estates. 

172 


Item,  for  plate  and  stiitfe  of  myn,  the  \\\\U-]\  is  specy- 
fied  ill  iiiyii  fadris  testament  to  me  befpietlied,  and  my 
seide  fader  Fastolf  had  it  ever  to  his  use,  I  aske  restitu- 
cion  thereof  as  hiwe  and  right  reqnireth. 

Item,  for  the  strop  and  waste  of  my  enheritaunce,  which 
is  v°.  marks  worthe  by  yere,  the  which  was  in  the  handes 
of  my  seide  fader  liij.  yeres.  It  cannot  be  repaired  with 
M\  marks. 

Fastolf,  it  appears  to  the  "piteous  complaint"  of  Scrope 
when  originally  sent  to  him,  but  of  course  not  in  a  satis- 
factory manner;  on  which  the  following  further  replica- 
tion was  drawn  up  by  the  unhappy  sufferer : 

Here  by  the  commandments  of  my  fader  Fastolf,  foloweth 
my  replycations : — 

First,  where  it  is  seyde  that  I  was  nat  solde  be  my 
fader,  Fastolfe,  to  the  Justice  William  Gascoyne,  but  at 
the  instance,  plesir,  and  grete  prayer  of  my  lady  my  moder, 
to  that,  saving  the  displesir  of  me  seyde  fader,  I  have  herd 
her  sey  the  contrarie.  Neverthelesse  mesemeth  that  neyther 
he  ne  she  had  noon  auctorite  to  selle  me;  Avherfor  I  con- 
cevve  that  I  was  wrongfullv  doon  to.  As  to  the  remanent 
of  that  answere,  I  can,  be  my  seyde  faderes,  leve,  replie 
better  be  mouth  than  be  writing. 

As  to  the  second  answere,  touching  the  repayments  to 
the  seide  Justice  Willyam  Gascoyne  for  me,  saving  my 
seyde  faderys  displesir,  I  suppose  it  shal  be  founde  be 
the  reporte  of  some  jentilmen  of  Yorkeshyre,  that  the 
summes  were  nat  so  grete  as  it  is  rehersed  in  the  seyd 
seconde  answere.  Natwithstanding  how  that  ever  it  were, 
I  had  the  soor  and  felt  the  hurte.  And  where  it  is  seyde 
that  my  seyde  fader  was  nat  bounden  to  tinde  me  in  my 
youthe,  the  lawe  knowe  I  nat,  but  wel  I  wote,  that  if  a 
woman  the  which  is  to  marry  have  many  chylder,  it  is 
often  seen  that  men  be  daungerous  (afraid)  to  take  sych 
Avomen  for  the  charge  of  theyre  childer.  As  to  the  remanent 
of  that  answere  I  can,  be  my  seyde  faderes  leve,  (replie) 
thereto  better  be  mouth  than  be  writing. 


As  to  the  iij.  answere,  my  seycle  fader  seith  be  prom- 
issed  me  never  to  make  me  yerely  worth  iij.  times  the 
lordship  of  Wyghton,  saving  the  displesir  of  his  good  fader- 
hode,  I  can  wel  telle  the  place  where  it  was  sej^de,  that 
is  to  say,  in  a  gardin  in  the  parke  of  Alausom.  As  to  the 
remanent  of  that  answere  I  can,  be  my  seide  faderis  leve, 
replye  thereto  better  be  mouth  than  be  writing. 

As  to  the  iij.  answere,  I  sey  nat  in  my  iiij.  article  that 
my  seyde  fader  wrote  to  me  to  com  to  hym,  ne  desyred 
me  to  leve  my  lorde  of  Gloucestris  servyse,  whoos  soule 
God  assoyle.  But  I  have  tolde  the  causes  of  all  in  my 
iij.  article  and  in  the  iij.  replication.  As  to  the  remanent 
of  that  answere  I  can,  be  the  sevde  licence,  replie  thereto 
better  be  mouth  than  be  wrvting. 

As  to  the  V.  answere,  I  sey  that  I  rehersed  noo  thing 
in  my  v.  article  but  as  troutli  was  and  is,  save  my  seyde 
fader  may  saye  as  it  pleseth  hym.  The  remanent  of  that 
answere  I  shal  replj^e  thereto  be  mouth,  be  my  seide  faderes 
leve. 

As  to  the  vj.  answere,  where  it  is  seyde,  as  it  pleseth 
my  seyde  fader,  that  myn  outrageousenes  caused  moche 
thing,  I  have,  mesemeth,  answered  thereto  in  the  iij.  repli- 
cation. And  where  it  is  seyde  I  sholde  suffre  myn  owne 
faderes  feffes  (to)  selle  certeyne  of  myn  owne  faderes  lyfe- 
lood,  every  reasonable  man  niav  concevve  that  the  suff- 
raunce  most  nedes  a  been,  for  I  was  at  that  time  but  x  or 
xij.  yere  of  age,  and  fer  loygned  froo  th(ere)  be  sevde  fader 
Fastolf  thorugh  livs  forsevde  sale  made  to  the  Justice 
William  Gascoyne,  as  at  that  tyme  my  seyde  fader  ded 
with  me  as  it  plesed  hym.  To  the  remanent  shall  I  replye 
be  mouth,  and  he  wil  geve  me  leve. 

As  to  the  vij.  answere,  I  sey  that  lyvelode  coude  I  noon 
gete,  to  I  woold  me  maryed,  and  maried  coude  I  nat  be 
Avithoute  that  I  made  streyte  bondes,  what  may  be  sup- 
posed than  myght  folwe  thereof,  etc.  But  and  it  had  plesed 
me  seyde  fader  to  avaunced  me  to  lifelode,  or  that  I  had 
sette  me  to  maryage,  I  wolde  have  trosted  to  God,  have 

174 


mai'.ved  to  more  avyse  that  I  tied,  aud  to  a  kept  me  oute 
of  the  daimgeres  that  I  Imve  beu  in.  And  to  the  remanent 
of  that  answere  I  can  replie  be  mouth,  if  my  seyde  fader 
wille  geve  me  leve. 

As  to  the  viij.  answere,  where  there  is  thouj^iite  moch 
tmkindenes  in  me  symple  j)ersone;  I  dar  saufelye  seye,  and 
ni}'  seyde  fader  had  a  son  of  his  owne  body  begeten,  he 
sliold  nat  have  had  better  wylle  to  adoon  liym  servyse 
and  plesir  than  I  had.  To  the  surplus  of  that  answere, 
be  the  license  aforeseyde,  I  can  well  replie  be  mouth. 

As  to  the  ix.  answere,  where  my  seyde  fader  seyth  that 
he  is  enheryted  during  his  lyfe  as  wele  as  I,  I  wene  nat 
soo :  for  I  am  com  of  the  blode  and  he  but  be  gifted  of 
jeutilnes.  And  where  it  is  sejde  that  my  seyde  lady  and 
moder  wold  have  yoven  it  to  hym  in  fee,  I  have  herde  her 
«ey  the  contrarie,  and  soo  hath  oother  that  yet  lyveth 
moo  than  I.  And  where  it  is  seyde  that  I  have  confermed 
it  to  my  seyde  fader  hys  lyfe,  saving  his  displesir,  than 
mesemeth  I  ought  the  better  to  have  hys  gode  grace,  and 
nat  to  be  rebuked  for  my  piteous  complent.  For  it  is 
now  more  than  v.  yere  sea  my  seyd  lady  my  foder  dis- 
cessed,  whoos  soul  God  of  hys  hygh  mercy  assoile.^^  Soo 
thorough  that  confirmation  he  had  everi  yere  sythen  v". 
niarke,  the  whych  amounteth  ij"".  and  v''.  marke.  To  the 
surplus  of  that  answere  I  can  wel  replye,  be  my  seyde 
facleres  leve. 

If  I  have  seyde  in  thees  foreseyde  replications  oother 
Avyse  than  reson  and  conscience  woold  of  necligence,  sim- 
plenes,  or  unkonnynge,  I  aske  pardon  and  grace.  And 
where  it  semeth  to  my  seide  fader  that  I  sholde  nat 
akepte  thees  articles  soo  longe  in  my  breste;  forsooth  be 
my  wille  I  wold  a  kepte  theym  longer,  for  I  seyde  at  all 
tymes  that  the  hye  witte  and  the  grete  trouth  and  jentil- 
nesse  of  my  seyde  fader  knewe  full  wele  what  was  for  to 

"This  fixes  the  date  of  this  paper  1452,  the  Lady  Millicent  having 
died  in  1466. 

175  .      . , 


do:  for  an  ookle  proverb  sevtli,  a  w^^se  man  be  the  halfe 
tale  wote  what  the  hoole  tale  meneth. 

As  to  my  x.  article,  the  whycli  I  sente  a  parte  be  Moaster 
Clement  Denston,  I  have  noon  answere. 

(Endorsed) — Escrii^tz  de  moy  a  mon  pere  F. 

It  seems  likely  that  Stephen  Scrope  got  no  more  redress 
in  the  end  from  Fastolf's  executors  for  the  losses  he  so 
plaintively  catalogues  than  he  had  from  the  knight  himself 
While  living.  His  circumstances,  however,  must  have  im- 
proved somewhat  on  his  at  length  possession,  being  above 
the  age  of  sixty,  of  his  maternal  estates. 

Among  the  evidences  of  the  straits  to  which  he  was  driven 
by  his  embarrassments  are  a  bond  for  400  marks  to  John 
Dereward,  dated  1448,  and  a  revisionary  grant  of  a  mes- 
sage in  Castle  Combe  to  John  Whitehorne,  clothier,  dated 
1457,  to  take  effect  after  the  death  of  Fastolf." 


17G 


APPENDIX  B. 

EDMUND  TILNEY,   MASTER  OF  REVELS 

That  the  reader  may  understand  the  absolute  despotism 
of  the  Master  of  the  Revels,  under  tlie  Queen  and  the 
Lord  Chamberlain,  I  give  in  full  the  following  most  inter- 
esting and  important  historical  document.^ 

A  NEW  DOCUMENT  REGARDING  THE  AUTHOR- 
ITY OF  THE  MASTER  OF  THE  REVELS 
OVER  PLAY-MAKERS,  PLAYS  AND 
PLAYERS  IN  1581 

I  send  for  insertion  in  the  next  volume  of  "The  Shakes- 
peare Society's  Papers"  what  I  am  entitled  to  call  one 
of  the  most  curious  documents  connected  with  the  history 
of  our  stage,  only  two  or  three  years  before  our  great 
dramatist  became  a  writer  for  and  an  actor  upon  it. 
Moreover,  it  is  quite  a  novelty,  no  hint  for  its  existence 
being  anywhere  given.  It  was  communicated  to  me  by 
Mr.  Palmer,  of  the  Rolls'  Chapel,  a  short  time  since,  as 
being  on  the  patent  rolP  and  as  unknown  to  Mr.  Payne 
Collier  when  he  published  his  ''History  of  English  Dra- 
matic Poetry  and  the  Stage,"  in  1831. 

It  is  entitled  Commissio  specialis  pro  Edo.  Tylney,  Ar. 
Magistro  ReveUorum,  and  it  will  be  recollected  that  Ed- 
mund Tylney  had  been  appointed  Master  of  the  Revels  in 
July,  1579;  the  document  before  me  bears  date  24th  De- 
cember, in  the  24tli  year  of  Elizabeth;  i.  e.,  the  day  before 
Christmas,  1581,  for  the  24th  year  of  her  reign  did  not 
end  until  16th  November,  1582.  Tylney  had  therefore 
been  only  a  short  time  in  office  when  he  was  entrusted 

^TJie  Shakespeare  Soeiety  Paper,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  1,  1847. 
^Rot.  Paten,  cle  diversis  aniiis  tempore  R.  Elizabeth. 

377 


with  the  extraordinary  powers  communicated  to  him  by 
tins  patent. 

It  will  be  remarked  also  that  it  preceded  the  formation 
of  the  company  of  "the  Queen's  Players,"  which  Howes^ 
in  his  continuation  of  Stow's  Annals,  informs  us  con- 
sisted of  twelve  performers,  including  Eobert  Wilson 
and  Richard  Tarlton.  Sir  Francis  Walsingham  is  said 
to  have  been  instrumental  in  the  selection  of  the  actors ; 
and  we  know,  on  the  authority  of  the  Accounts  of  the 
Expenses  of  the  Revels,  that  Tylney  was  sent  for  by 
"Mr.  Secretary"  on  10th  March,  1582,  "to  chuse  out  a 
company  of  Players  for  her  Majesty." 

That  this  important  theatrical  event  was  contemplated 
when  the  subjoined  instrument  was  placed  in  the  hands 
of  Tylney,  we  need  have  little  doubt :  it  must,  in  fact,  have 
been  preparatory  to  it ;  and  anything  more  arbitrary,  or, 
as  we  should  now  call  it,  unconstitutional,  was  perhaps 
never  heard  of.  It  seems  framed  in  some  degree  upon 
the  model  of  the  unrestricted  powers,  at  much  earlier 
dates,  given  to  the  Master  of  the  Children  of  the  Chapel, 
&c.,  to  take  boys  from  the  choirs  of  any  cathedrals  or 
churches,  in  order  that  they  might  be  employed  in  the 
Chapel  Royal.  Tylney  warrant,  however,  does  not  apply 
to  mere  singing  boys,  but  to  grown  men,  artificers,  actors, 
and  dramatists ;  and,  as  will  be  seen,  it  is  much  larger  and 
iQore  imperative  in  the  authority  it  conveys. 

For  the  purposes  of  the  Revels  at  Court  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  Queen,  it  enables  Tylney,  or  his  deputy,  in 
the  first  place  to  command  the  services  of  any  painters,, 
embroiderers,  tailors,  property-makers,  &c.,  he  thought 
fit,  and,  in  case  of  refusal  or  neglect,  to  commit  them  dur- 
ing his  pleasure  "without  bail  or  mainprise";  so  that 
they  had  no  remedy  but  to  submit.  But  the  most  remark- 
able part  of  the  Patent  comes  afterwards  where  the  same 

178 


unprecedented  power  is  given  to  Tylney,  or  liis  deputy^ 
to  order  all  players  of  comedies,  tragedies,  or  interludes, 
"with  their  playmakers, "  to  come  before  him  to  recite 
such  performances  as  they  were  in  a  condition  to  repre- 
sent. Thus  actors  and  poets  were  put  as  much  at  the 
mercy  of  Tylney  and  his  deputy  as  the  commonest  work- 
men he  employed;  for,  if  they  did  not  obey  his  orders,  he 
was  to  commit  them,  or  any  of  them,  ''without  bail  or 
main-prize,"  for  an  indefinite  period,  either  to  enforce 
compliance,  or  to  punish  them  for  being  refractory  in  the 
execution  of  his  commands. 

Connected  with  this  duty  was  a  power  conveyed  to 
Tylney,  at  his  discretion,  to  reform,  or  entirely  suppress, 
any  of  the  "playing  places"  the  actors  were  in  the  habit 
of  employing  for  their  exhibitions.  Nothing  therefore 
can  be  more  unqualified  than  the  authority  given  to  the 
Master  of  the  Revels,  or  his  deputy,  in  all  matters  relat- 
ing to  the  drama  and  stage  in  the  middle  of  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth.  The  Patent  itself  is  in  these  terms,  the  only 
difference  being  that  I  have  printed  it  in  words  at  length,, 
avoiding  legal  abbreviations,  and  that  I  have  divided  into 
separate  paragraphs,  according  to  the  subjects  treated^ 
what  in  the  original  is  in  one  unbroken  mass. 

THOMAS  EDLYNE  TOMLINS. 

Islington,  9th  April,  1847. 

"ELIZABETH  BY  THE  GRACE  OF  GOD,  i&C.  TO 
ALL  MANNER  OUR  JUSTICES,  MAIORS, 
SHERIFFES,  BAYLIFFES,  CONSTABLES,  AND 
ALL  OTHER  OUR  OFFICERS,  MINISTERS, 
TRUE  LIEGE  MEN  AND  SUBJECTS,  AND  TO^ 
EVERY  OF  THEM  GREETINGE.  ,  • 

"We  lett  you  witt,  that  We  have  authorized  licensed 

and  commanded,   and  by  these  presentes  do  authorise- 

379 


licence  and  commaunde  our  Welbeloved  Edmunde  Tyl- 
ney  Esquire,  Maister  of  our  Re  veils,  as  well  to  take  and 
retaine  for  us  and  in  our  Name  at  all  tymes  from  liens- 
forth,  and  in  all  places  witliin  tliis  our  Eealme  of  Eng- 
land, as  well  within  Franclieses  and  Liberties  as  without, 
at  competent  Wages,  aswell  all  suclie  and  as  many  Paint- 
ers, Imbroderers,  Taylors,  Cappers,  Haberdashers,  Joyn- 
ers.  Carvers,  Glasiers,  Armorers,  Basketmakers,  Skin- 
ners, Sadlers,  Waggen  Makers,  Plaisterers,  Fethermak- 
ers,  as  all  other  Propertie  makers  and  conninge  Artificers 
and  Laborers  whatsoever,  as  our  said  Servant  or  his 
assigne,  bearers  hereof,  shall  thinke  necessaire  and  requi- 
site for  the  speedie  workinge  and  fynisheinge  of  any 
exploite,  workmanshippe,  or  peece  of  service  that  shall 
at  any  tyme  hereafter  belonge  to  our  saide  office  of  the 
Revells,  as  also  to  take  at  price  reasonable,  in  all  places 
within  our  said  Eealme  of  England,  as  well  within  Fran- 
cheses  and  Liberties  as  without,  any  kinde  or  kincles  of 
stuffe,  Ware,  or  Merchandise,  Woode,  or  Coale,  or  other 
Fewell,  Tymber,  Wainscott,  Boarde,  Lathe,  Nailes, 
Bricke,  Tile,  Leade,  Iron,  Wier,  and  all  other  necessaries 
for  our  said  workes  of  the  said  office  of  our  Eevells,  as 
he  the  said  Edmunde  or  his  assigne  shall  thinke  behoofe- 
full  and  expedient  from  tyme  to  tyme  for  our  said  service 
in  the  said  office  of  the  Eevells.  Together  with  all  car- 
riages for  the  same,  both  by  Land  and  by  Water,  as  the 
case  shall  require. 

*'And  furthermore,  we  have  by  these  presents  author- 
ised and  commaunded  the  said  Edmunde  Tylney,  that  in 
case  any  person  or  persons,  whatsoever  they  be,  will 
obstinately  disobey  and  refuse  from  hensforth  to  accom- 
plishe  and  obey  our  commaundement  and  pleasure  in 
that  behalfe,  or  withdrawe  themselves  from  any  of  our 
said  Workes,  upon  warninge  to  them  or  any  of  them 

180 


giiion  by  the  saide  Eclmunde  Tylney,  or  by  his  sufficient 
Deputie  in  that  behalfe  to  be  named,  appointed  for  their 
diligent  attendance  and  workmanship  upon  the  said 
workes  or  devises,  as  to  their  naturall  dutie  and  allei- 
geance  apperteineth,  that  then  it  shalbe  lawful!  unto  the 
same  Edmund  Tilney,  or  his  Deputie  for  the  tyme  beinge, 
to  attache  the  partie  or  parties  so  offendinge,  and  him  or 
them  to  commyt  to  warde,  there  to  remaine,  without  1)aile 
or  maineprise,  until  such  tyme  as  the  saide  Edmunde,  or 
his  Deputie,  shall  tliinke  the  tyme  of  his  or  their  impris- 
onment to  be  punishment  sufficient  for  his  or  their  saide 
offence  in  that  behalfe ;  and  that  done,  to  enlarge  him  or 
them,  so  beinge  imprisoned,  at  their  full  Libertie,  with- 
out any  Losse,  Penaltie,  Forfaiture,  or  other  damage  in 
that  behalfe  to  be  susteined  or  borne  by  the  saide  Ed- 
munde Tilney,  or  his  said  Deputie. 

*'And  also,  if  any  person  or  persons,  beinge  taken  into 
our  said  workes  of  the  said  office  of  our  Revells,  beinge 
arrested,  comminge  or  goinge  to  or  from  our  saide 
AVorkes  of  our  said  office  of  our  Revells,  at  the  sute  of 
any  person  or  persons^  then  the  said  Edminde  Tilney, 
by  vertue  and  authoritie  thereof,  to  enlarge  him  or  them, 
as  by  our  speciall  protection,  duringe  the  tyme  of  our 
said  workes. 

*'And  also,  if  any  person  or  persons,  beinge  reteyned 
in  our  said  works  of  our  said  office  of  Revells,  have  taken 
any  manner  of  taske  worke,  beinge  bounde  to  finishe  the 
same  by  a  certen  day,  shall  not  runne  into  any  manner  of 
forfeiture  or  penaltie  for  breakinge  of  his  day,  so  that 
he  or  they,  ymmediately  after  the  fynishinge  of  our  said 
workes,  indevor  him  or  themselves  to  fynishe  the  saide 
taske  worke. 

''And  furthermore,  also,  we  have  and  doe  by  these 
presents   authorise  and  commaunde   our  said  Servant, 

181 


Edmimcle  Tilney,  Maister  of  our  said  Eevells,  by  Mm- 
selfe  or  his  sufficient  Deputie  or  Deputies,  to  warne,  com- 
niaunde,  and  appointe,  in  all  places  within  this  our 
Bealme  of  England,  as  well  within  Francheses  and  Liber- 
ties as  without,  all  and  every  plaier  or  plaiers,  with  their 
playmakers,  either  belonginge  to  any  Noble  Man,  or 
otherwise,  bearinge  the  Name  or  Names  of  usinge  the 
Facultie  of  Playmakers,  or  Plaiers  of  Comedies,  Trage- 
dies, Enterludes,  or  what  other  Showes  soever,  from  tyme 
to  tyme,  and  at  all  tymes,  to  appeare  before  him,  with  all 
suche  Plaies,  Tragedies,  Comedies,  or  Showes  as  they 
shall  have  in  readines,  or  meane  to  sett  forth,  and  them  to 
presente  and  recite  before  our  said  Servant,  or  his  siffi- 
cient  Deputie,  whom  wee  ordeyne,  appointe,  and  author- 
ise by  these  presentes  of  all  suche  Showes,  Plaies,  Plaiers, 
and  Playmakers,  together  with  their  playinge  places,  to 
order  and  reforme,  auctorise  and  put  downe,  as  shalbe 
thought  meete  or  unmeete  unto  himselfe,  or  his  said 
Deputie,  in  that  behalf e.  -  ^ 

''And  also,  likewise,  we  have  by  these  presentes  auth- 
orised and  commaunded  the  said  Edmunde  Tylney,  that 
in  case  if  any  of  them,  whatsoever  they  bee,  will  obsti- 
natelie  refuse,  upon  warninge  unto  them  given  by  the 
said  Edmunde,  or  his  sufficient  Deputie,  to  accomplishe 
and  obey  our  commaunclement  in  this  behalfe,  then  it 
shalbe  lawful  to  the  saide  Edmunde,  or  his  sufficient 
Deputie,  to  attache  the  partie  or  parties  so  offendinge,. 
and  him  or  them  to  commytt  to  Warde,  to  remayne,  with- 
out bayle  or  mayneprise,  untill  suche  tyme  as  the  same 
Edmunde  Tylney,  or  his  sufficient  Deputie,  shall  thinke 
the  tyme  of  his  or  theire  jmiprisonment  to  be  punishe- 
ment  sufficient  for  his  or  their  said  offence  in  that  be- 
halfe; and  that  done,  to  enlarge  him  or  them  so  beinge 
imprisoned  at  their  plaine  Libertie,  without  any  losse,, 

182 


I^enaltie,  forfeiture,  or  other  Daunger  in  this  behalfe  to 
he  susteyned  or  borne  by  the  said  Edmunde  Tyhiey,  or 
his  Deputie,  any  Acte,  Statute,  Ordinance,  or  Provision 
heretofore  had  or  made,  to  the  contrarie  hereof  in  any 
wise  notwithstanding. 

"Wherefore  we  will  and  comraaunde  you,  and  every 
of  you,  that  unto  the  said  Edmunde  Tylney,  or  his  suffi- 
cient Deputie,  bearer  hereof,  in  the  due  execution  of  this 
our  authoritie  and  comaundement  ye  be  aydinge,  sup- 
portinge,  and  assistinge  from  tyme  to  tyme,  as  the  case 
shall  require,  as  you  and  every  of  you  tender  our  pleas- 
ure, and  will  answer  to  the  contrarie  at  your  uttermost 
perills.  In  Witnesse  whereof,  &c.,  Witnes  our  selfe  at 
AVestm.  the  xxiiijth  day  of  December,  in  the  xxiiijth  yere 
of  our  Eaigne. 

Per  Bre.  de  Privato  Sigillo. 


1S3 


APPENDIX  C. 

The  following  list  shows  some  of  the  lauds  owned  by  the 
Cooke-s,  lords  of  Hartshill,  and  also  Inscriptions  in  the 
Church  of  Ansley  adjoining,  from  BavtletV b  Maiiduessedum 
Bomanorum. 

One  messuage  and  one  cottage,  wherein  Thomas  Ilewet 
dAvelt,  and  Littlefleld,  Nurselfield,  divided  into  two  parts, 
Ferney  croft,  Johns  croft,  the  Leyes,  Broom  close,  the 
Paddoks,  Aldermore,  three  closes  called  Rideings,  the 
herbage  and  weeding  of  Hasellmore  and  Hillmore. 

William  Migh  the  younger,  1  messuage,  1  croft,  Cinder 
hill,  the  Middlefield  or  Cornfield  divided,  the  Newes,  the 
Nether  meadow,  the  Furmoore  meadow,  the  Leys,  the 
Eidmore,  and  the  Furmoore,  and  the  herbage  and  weed- 
ing of  a  spring  wood  called  the  Moore. 

Thomas  Holt,  a  grist  milne,  a  garden  and  orchard, 
the  miln  dam,  and  the  stream  fishing,  the  miln  holm, 
the  hither  home,  and  the  farther  home. 

John  AVard,  1  messuage,  1  little  croft,  the  Wallnut 
yard,  the  Town  croft,  the  Nine  Lands,  the  Wardshill  as 
divided,  the  Pinfold  croft,  and  the  Mill  lane  end. 

Edmund  Harris,  1  messuage,  the  Town  croft,  the  Hall 
croft,  or  Tophills,  the  Pinfold  croft,  the  Mill  lane  end, 
and  the  Pittle  or  Pingle. 

Ealph  Parker,  the  Marlepit  flat,  a  Pingle  in  the  Moore 
meadow,  the  weedings  of  two  orchards,  the  Moore  corner, 
the  Moore  belonging  to  the  Brent  house,  the  Moore 
meadow,  a  Moore  with  the  privilege  of  pasturing  called 
Ground  Moore  meadow,  with  the  dor  wast,  and  green 
goods.  Yard  End  an  orchard  near  the  Hollows  the  new 
taken  in  in  two  parts. 

Henry  Stanley,  its  hay,  one  garden,  one  yard,  the  Rails 

184 


flat,  Alcots  flat  or  12  lands,  the  Wardell,  the  Uemp  yard, 
the  Sope  meadow. 

William  Ixemiiijiton,  one  messuage,  one  garden,  one 
orchard,  the  Pinfold  croft,  the  great  Wardell,  the  Lease, 
the  Moore,  the  ('aldwell  as  it  is  divided,  the  Webland 
least,  the  Webland,  Eaton  lane  end,  and  the  Slade 
meadow. 

R.  Remington,  one  cottage,  one  garden,  the  Wardell, 
the  Wardell  croft,  the  Hill  close,  the  Bnllmear  meadow, 
one  piece  of  meadow  in  Slade  meadow,  the  herbage  and 
weedings  in  Allen's  nioore. 

John  Wood,  one  messuage,  one  orchard,  one  Avork- 
house,  one  stable,  one  garden  and  orchard,  the  Yard's  end 
close. 

John  Alcok  vel  Alcot,  one  messuage,  one  orchard,  one 
garden,  one  pasture  called  the  Yard,  the  Ilillfield,  the 
Woolvey  Oakfield,  the  Conygree,  Eatonlane  end,  the 
3Ioor  meadow. 

Joyce  Parker,  one  messuage,  one  orchard,  one  garden, 
one  little  orchard,  and  oxhouse  yew,  one  close  called  the 
Yard,  the  Town  croft,  the  Nine  Lands. 

One  cottage  and  backside,  the  Six  Lands.  One  cot- 
tage and  backside  called  Pinfold  croft.  One  little 
meadow,  half  Gunne  meadow,  the  new  taken  in,  the  R^de- 
ing,  the  Barn  yard. 

Robert  Burbage,  one  messuage,  one  barn,  one  garden, 
one  orchard,  one  little  yard,  the  Y^ard's  end  croft,  the 
Slade  close,  and  one  piece  of  meadow,  the  Dearefbank, 
Burbridge's  Moore  meadow,  the  herbage  and  weeding  of 
Burbridge's  Moore  wood. 

William  Mights,  one  messuage,  one  stable,  one  garden, 
one  orchard,  the  Hoggs  Eyon  divided,  the  Falls  being 
two  closes,  the  great  Wardell,  the  upper  Wardell,  and 
nether  Wardell,  the  Bednells,  the  Broom  close,  the 
Pvno-le,  the  Moore  meadow,  ^Miji'ht's  Moore,  half  the 
Gun  meadow. 

1S.5 


Alexander  Weston,  one  messuage,  one  stable,  one  gar- 
den, one  barn,  one  orchard,  the  Jumbell.  Flatt  or  Mill- 
lane  end,  one  piece  of  arable  land  called  the  Voxhill 
close,  the  honse  and  croft,  Weston's  key  corner  in  two 
pieces,  Weston's  Slade  mill,  the  Hookes,  the  Heath,  the 
nether  Slade,  the  herbage  and  weedings  of  Weston's 
Moore. 

Eichard  Bentlej^,  one  cottage,  one  garden  called  the 
Chappell. 

Thomas  Holt,  one  messuage  called  Wolbey  houst,  one 
barne,  one  stable  yard  and  orchard,  one  croft  and 
barn,  Wolvey  field,  the  Barkers  be  two  several  fields, 
three  tostes  called  the  Newso,  the  nether  mead  some- 
time parcel  of  Barkers,  the  middle  mead,  the  Pingle,  and 
the  Sweet  Moore. 

Inscriptions  in  tlie  Church.* 

5.     At  the  bottom  of  the  church  :** 

"Hie  jacet  Francicus  Bacon, 

Sacr?e  Theologire 

Professor, 

Eccl,  Lichfeld 

Priebendarius, 

Hujus  Eccl.  Vicar. 

Obiit  an.  Dom. 

MDCLXXXII. 

annoque  set  LXXXIV." 

Saint  John  Twycross,  heretofore  vicar  of  Ansley  (prior 
to  the  year  1606)  gave  20  marks  to  be  laid  out  in  the 
purchase  of  land,  the  yearly  produce  of  which  was  to  be 
expended  as  follows:  one  moiety  or  half  part  to  be  dis- 

*Note — Of  these  inscriptions  Xos.  1  and  2  were  in  Dug- 
dale's  edition  If  1656 ;  3,  4,  6,  were  added  by  Dr.  Thomas ; 
the  others  by  Mr.  Bartlett. 

**Note — This  epitaph  is  entirely  gone,  stone  and  all. 

186 


tributed  aiuoii«i;st  the  poor  of  Ansley  yearly,  by  the  trus- 
tees, within  eij»ht  days  of  Christmas  or  Easter;  the  other 
moiety  in  aniendin*;-  and  repairing-  the  highways  most 
needful  to  be  repaired ;  which  sum  being  encreased  by  the 
parish  to  £17  was  laid  out  in  the  purchase  of  an  es- 
tate, now  rented  at  £10  per  mm. 

Shakespeare  also  beciueathed  the  sum  of  £3  at  what  time 
is  unknown :  the  interest  to  be  given  yearly  to  the  poor  of 
Ansley  in  bread. 

The  sum  of  6s.  8d.  yearly  was  also  charged  upon  a 
small  cottage  and  croft,  late  in  the  occupation  of  George 
Izon,  to  find  bell-ropes  for  the  church-bells;  but  by  whom 
is  not  now  known;  which  cottage  and  croft,  about  17(15, 
was  purchased  of  the  parish  by  the  late  John  Ludford, 
Esq.,  for  £30;  which,  together  with  Shakespear's  and 
Oughton's  gifts,  as  above  mentioned,  was  expended  in 
rebuilding  the  poors'  houses,  and  the  income  is  now  paid 
by  the  overseers  to  the  poor. 

The  trustees  of  all  the  above  charities  (except  ^Ir. 
Stratford's)  at  the  time  of  the  donation  returns  were: 
John  Ludford,  Esq.,  John  Barber,  Thomas  Cheshire, 
Richard  Harrison,  John  Wagstaff,  John  Johnson,  Wil- 
liam Topp,  Robert  Harrison. 

ANSLEY    CHURCH. 
Incumbentes,  &  tempora  institutions. 

Elizabetha  R.  Angl.  Robert  Coope  cler.  XII  Jul.  1501, 
(V.  p.  r. )  H.  Hondys)  postea  deprivatus.  Thomas  Arn- 
feild  cler.  XXVII  Jul.  1574.  Rob.  Cope  II  Mart.  1575. 
Will.  Foxe  cler.  XXII  Dec.  1591.  Jac.  Bush  cler.  X. 
Junii,  1600. 

Rich.  Chamberlain,  arm.  Rex.  Francis  Bacon,  A.  M. 
XIII  Sept.  1625.  Francis  Bacon,  XIV  Jan.  1638,  ob. 
1682.* 

*NoTE. — 111  the  parish  register  I  find  the  following  note :  This  book 
was  returned  by  William  ^yilson  late  register  of  Ansley  to  me.  Francis 
Bacon  Vicar,  of  Ansley,  April  24.  1661.  This  William  Wilson  had 
acted  as  register  from  the  Act's  taking  place  by  which  the  late  vicar 
was  dispossessed. 

187 


No.  12.     Extract  from  the  oldest  Register  of  Ansley. 

"Compositionein  hanc  ideo  hie  inserui  quia  scriptum 
chartaceiim  (quod  habui  solum)  ipgre  potuit  ad  posteri- 
tatem  dedi.     F.  Bacon,  V.  Anslei,  1G45." 

Thomas  Shakespear  was  one  of  the  church  wardens 
in  1G33.  The  same  who  bequeathed  £3  yearly  to  the 
poor  of  Ansle}'.    B.  B. 

No.  13.  Extract  from  the  oldest  Register  of  Ansley,  on 
the  back  of  the  leaf  where  the  Composition  is  transcribed. 

These  records  were  searche  out,  and  heare  inserted 
the  like  occasion  shall  hereafter  happen;  for  the  yearly 
pencon,  with  all  the  arrears,  were  by  Mr.  Robinson,  re- 
ceiver of  the  tenths,  demanded  as  payable  by  the  church- 
wardens of  Ansley,  being  mistaken  for  Ansley,  or 
Alvesley.     Francis  Bacon,  Vic'lbm,  March  9,  1649. 


:i?S 


r 


GeftaGrayorum: 

OR,    THE 

H  I  S  T  O  R  Y 

of  the  High  and  mighty  PRINCE, 

HEN  RY 

Prince  of  Purpoolc,  Arch-Duke  of  Stapulia  and 
Bernardia,  Dukeof  Highand  Nether  Holborn, 
Marquis  of.  St.  Giles  and  Tottenhira,  Count 
Palatine  of  Bloomsburyand  Clerken well.  Great 
Lord  of  the  Cantons  of  Iflington,  Kenti(h- 
Town  ,  Paddington  and  Knights-bridge , 
Knight  of  the  moft  Heroical  Order  of  the 
Helmet,  and  Sovereign  of  the  Same  ; 

Who  Reigned  and  Died,  J.T>.  j  594.. 

TOGETHER     WITH 

A  Mafquc,  as  it  was  prefented  (by  His  Highnefs's Com- 
mand) for  the  Entertainment  of  Q^  ELIZABETH; 
who ,  with  the  Nobks  of  both  Courts,  was  prcfent 
tjiercat. 

LONDON,  Printed  for   W.  Canning,  at  his  Shop  in 
the  Tcmplc-Cloyfters^,   MDCLXXXVUL 

Rricc,  one  Shilling. 


J 


To    The     Most     Honourable 
Matthew  Smyth,  Esq. 
Comptroller 
Of  The 
Honourable  Society 
Of  The 
Inner  Temple 
Sir, 

The  State  of  Purpoole  (so  long  obscured  in 
itself)  could  no  otherwise  express  its  Grandeur, 
but  by  shewing  to  Posterity  what  it  was:  This 
moved  those  ingenious  Gentlemen  to  leave  to 
succeeding  Times  the  Memory  of  those  Actions, 
which  they  themselves  had  done ;  not  for  the  vain 
Air  of  Popularity,  but  generously  to  give  an 
Example,  which  others  might  desire  to  follow. 

According  they  have  by  this  History,  set  forth 
their  iVctions,  which  seem  to  be  writ  with  the 
same  Gallentry  of  Spirit  as  they  were  done. 

The  Language  itself  is  all  that  Age  could 
afiford;  which  allowing  something  for  the 
Modern  Dress  and  Words  in  Fashion,  is  not 
beneath  any  we  have  now:  It  was  for  that  Rea- 
son thought  necessary. 


THE  EPISTOLE  DEDICATORY. 

Not  to  clip  anything;  which,  though  it  may  seem 
odd,  yet  naturally  begets  a  Veneration,  upon 
Account  of  its  Antiquity. 

What  more  could  they  have  wished,  than  to  have 
found  a  Patron,  worthy  the  protecting  the 
Memory  of  such  a  Prince?  And  what  more 
than  they  requiring  than  the  Safety  of  your 
Patronage. 

It  was  Fortune,  undoubtedly,  that  reserved  it 
for  this  happy  Opportunity  of  coming  forth 
under  vour  Protection. 

That  first  Alliance,  which  ever  was  betwixt 
your  States  seems  to  ask  it  of  you,  as  the  only 
Person  in  whom  are  revived  the  ancient  Honours 
of  both  Houses.  It  was  certainly  a  public  Sence 
of  the  same  personal  Abilities  (which  made  that 
Prince  so  conspicuous)  that  gives  us  all  a  pub- 
lic View  of  those  Virtues,  so  much  admired  in 
private. 

Sir,  'tis  for  these  Reasons  humbly  offered  to 
you,  presuming  upon  favourable  Acceptance  of 
that  which  naturally  falls  under  your  Care. 

May  Time  perfect  the  Character,  already  so  well 
begun,  that  Posterity  may  bear  you  equal,  if  not 
greater  than  the  Prince  of  Purpoole. 

I  am.  Sir, 
Your  Honour's 
Most  Obedient  Servant, 

W.  C. 


GESTA    GRAYORUM, 

OR, 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  HIGH  AND  MIGHTY 

PRINCE  HENRY, 

Prince  of  PUEPOOLE,  Arch  Duke  of  STAPULIA  and 
BEENARDIA,  Duke  of  HIGH  and  NETHEE  HOL- 
BOEN,  Marquis  of  ST.  GILES  and  TOTTENHAM, 
Count  Palatine  of  BLOOMSBUEY  and  CLEEKEN- 

:  WELL,  Great  Lord  of  the  Cantons  of  ISLING- 
TON, KENTISH  TOWN,  PADDINGTON,  and 
KNIGHTS-BEIDGE  of  the  Most  Heroical  Order  of 
the  HELMET,  and  Sovereign  of  the  same:  who 
reigned  and  died  A.  D.  1594. — Together  with  a 
Masque,  as  it  was  presented  (by  his  Highness 's  com- 
mand) for  the  Entertainment  of  Q.  ELIZABETH, 
who,  with  the  Nobles  of  both  Courts,  was  present 
thereat.    In  two  Parts. ^ 

The  great  number  of  gallant  Gentlemen  that  Gray's 
Inn  afforded  at  Ordinary  Eevels,  betwixt  All-Hollantide 
and  Christmas,  exceeding  therein  the  rest  of  the  Houses 
of  Court,  gave  occasion  to  some  well-wishers  of  our 
sports,  and  favourers  of  our  credit,  to  wish  an  head 
answerable  to  so  noble  a  body,  and  a  leader  to  so  gallant 
a  company:  which  motion  was  more  willingly  hearkened 

^  The  first  part  of  this  tract  was  printed  in  1688  for  W.  Canning,  at  his  shop  in 
the  Temple  Cloysters.  The  publisher  was  Mr.  Henry  Keepe,  who  published  the  Monu- 
ments of  Westminster.  The  second  part  was  first  published  in  the  former  edition  of 
these  Progresses  from  a  MS.  then  in  the  editor's  possession,  and  afterwards  given  to 
Mr.  Gough. 


unto,  in  regard  that  sucli  pass-times  had  been  intermitted 
by  the  space  of  three  or  four  years,  by  reason  of  sick- 
ness and  discontinuances. 

After  many  consultations  had  hereupon  by  the  youths 
and  others  that  were  most  forward  herein,  at  length, 
about  the  12th  of  December,  with  the  consent  and  assist- 
ance of  the  Readers  and  Ancients,  it  was  determined, 
that  there  should  be  elected  a  Prince  of  Purpoole,  to  gov- 
ern our  state  for  the  time;  which  was  intended  to  be  for 
the  credit  of  Gray's  Inn,  arid  rather  to  be  performed  by 
witty  inventions  than  chargeable  expences. 

Whereupon,  they  presently  made  choice  of  one  Mr. 
Henry  Holmes,  a  Norfolk  gentleman,  who  was  thought  to 
be  accomplished  with  all  good  parts,  fit  for  so  great  a 
dignity;  and  was  also  a  very  proper  man  of  personage, 
and  very  active  in  dancing  and  revelling. 

Then  was  his  Privy  Council  assigned  him,  to  advise  of 
state-matters,  and  the  government  of  his  dominions:  his 
lodging  also  was  provided  according  to  state ;  as  the  Pres- 
ence Chamber,  and  the  Council  Chamber.  Also  all  Officers 
of  State,  of  the  Law,  and  of  the  Household.  There  were 
also  appointed  Gentlemen  Pensioners  to  attend  on  his 
person,  and  a  guard,  with  their  Captain,  for  his  defence. 

The  next  thing  thought  upon,  as  most  necessary,  was, 
provision  of  Treasure,  for  the  support  of  his  state  and 
dignity.  To  this  purpose,  there  was  granted  a  benevo- 
lence by  those  that  were  then  in  his  Court  abiding:  and 
for  those  that  were  not  in  the  House,  there  were  letters 
directed  to  them,  in  nature  of  Privy  Seals,  to  enjoin  them, 
not  only  to  be  present,  and  give  their  attendance  at  his 
Court ;  but  also,  that  they  should  contribute  to  the  defray- 
ing of  so  great  a  charge,  as  was  guessed  to  be  requisite 
for  the  performance  of  so  great  intendments. 

6 


The  Form  of  the  Privy  Seals  directed  to  the  foreigners, 
upon  occasion  as  is  aforesaid : 

"Your  friends  of  the  Society  of  Gray's  Inn  now  resid- 
ing there,  have  thought  good  to  elect  a  Prince,  to  govern 
the  state  of  the  Signiory,  now  by  discontinuance  much 
impaired  in  the  ancient  honour  wliere  in  it  hath  excelled 
all  other  of  like  dignity.  These  are  therefore,  in  the 
name  of  the  said  Prince,  to  require  you  forthwith  to  re- 
sort to  the  Court  there  holden,  to  assist  the  proceedings 
with  your  person ;  and  withal,  upon  the  receipt  hereof,  to 
make  contribution  of  such  benevolence  as  may  express 
your  good  affection  to  the  State,  and  be  answerable  to 
your  quality.  We  have  appointed  our  well-beloved 
Edward  Jones  our  foreign  collector,  who  shall  attend  you 
by  himself,  or  by  his  deputy. 

Dated  at  our  Court  at  Graya,         Your  loving  friend, 
the  13th  of  December,  1594.  GRAY'S-INN." 

If,  upon  receipt  of  these  letters,  they  returned  answer 
again,  that  they  would  be  present  in  person  at  our  sports, 
as  divers  did,  not  taking  notice  of  the  further  meaning 
therein  expressed,  they  were  served  with  an  alias,  as 
f  olloweth : 

"To  our  trusty  and  well-beloved  W.  B.  at  L.  give  these. 

"Whereas,  upon  our  former  letters  to  you,  which  re- 
quired your  personal  appearance  and  contribution,  you 
have  returned  us  answer  that  you  will  be  present,  with- 
out satisfying  the  residue  of  the  contents  for  the  benevo- 
lence :  these  are  therefore  to  will  and  require  you,  forth- 
with, upon  the  receipt  hereof,  to  send  for  your  part,  such 
supply  by  this  bearer,  as  to  you,  for  the  defraying  so 
great  a  charge,  shall  seem  convenient:  and  herein  you 


shall  perform  a  duty  to  the  House,  and  avoid  that  ill 
opinion  which  some  ungentlemanly  spirits  have  pur- 
chased by  their  uncivil  answers  to  our  letters  directed 
to  them,  whose  demeanor  shall  be  laid  to  their  charge- 
when  time  serveth ;  and  in  the  mean  time,  order  shall  be 
taken,  that  their  names  and  defaults  shall  be  proclaimed 
in  our  publick  assemblies,  to  their  greate  discredit,  &c. 

Your  loving  friend,        GRAY'S-INN." 


By  this  means  the  Prince's  treasure  was  well  in- 
creased ;  as  also  by  the  great  bounty  of  divers  honourable 
favourers  of  our  state,  that  imparted  their  liberality,  to 
the  setting  forward  of  our  intended  pass-times.  Amongst 
the  rest,  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  William  Cecill,. 
Knight,  Lord  Treasurer  of  England,  being  of  our  So- 
ciety, deserved  honourable  rememberance,  for  his  liberal 
and  noble  mindfulness  of  us,  and  our  State;  who,  unde- 
sired,  sent  to  the  Prince,  as  a  token  of  his  Lordship's 
favour,  £10,  and  a  purse  of  fine  rich  needle-work. 

"When  all  these  things  sorted  so  well  to  our  desires,, 
and  that  there  was  good  hope  of  effecting  that  that  was 
taken  in  hand,  there  was  dispatched  from  our  State  a 
messenger  to  our  ancient  allied  friend  the  Inner  Temple, 
that  they  might  be  acquainted  with  our  proceedings,  and 
also  to  be  invited  to  participate  of  our  honour ;  which  to 
them  was  most  acceptable,  as  by  the  process  of  their  let- 
ters and  ours,  mutually  sent,  may  appear. 


8 


The  Copies  of  the  Letters  that  passed  betwixt  the  two 
most  flourishing:  Estates 


'to 


of  the  Grayans  Templarians. 

"To  the  most  Honourable  and  Prudent,  the  Governors, 
Assistants,  and  Society 

of  the  Inner  Temple. 

''Most  Grave  and  Noble, 

"We  have,  upon  good  consideration,  made  choice  of 
a  Prince,  to  be  predominant  in  our  State  of  Purpoole^ 
for  some  important  causes  that  require  an  head,  or  leader  : 
and  as  we  have  ever  had  great  cause,  by  the  warrant  of 
experience,  to  assure  ourselves  of  your  unfeigned  love 
and  amity,  so  we  are,  upon  this  occasion,  and  in  the 
name  of  our  Prince  elect,  to  pray  you,  that  it  may  con- 
tinue; and  in  demonstration  thereof,  that  you  will  be 
pleased  to  assist  us  with  your  counsel,  in  the  person  of 
an  Ambassador,  that  may  be  resident  here  amongst  us, 
and  be  a  minister  of  correspondence  between  us,  and  to 
advise  of  such  affairs,  as  the  effects  whereof,  we  hope, 
shall  sort  to  the  benefit  of  both  our  estates.  And  so,  being 
ready  to  requite  you  with  all  good  offices,  we  leave  you 
to  the  protection  of  the  Almighty. 

"Your  most  loving  friend  and  ally, 

"GRAY'S-IXN. 

"Dated  at  our  Court  of  Graya,  this'14th  of 
December,  1594." 


9 


"To  the  most  Honourable  State  of  the  Grayans. 
"Right  Honourable,  and  most  firmly  United, 

"If  our  deserts  were  any  way  answerable  to  the  great 
expectation  of  your  good  proceedings,  we  might  with  more 
boldness  accomplish  the  request  of  your  kind  letters, 
whereby  it  pleaseth  you  to  interest  us  in  the  honour  of 
your  actions;  which  we  cannot  but  acknowledge  for  a 
great  courtesie  and  kindness  (a  thing  proper  to  you,  in 
all  your  courses  and  endeavours),  and  repute  it  a  great 
honour  intended  towards  ourselves:  in  respect  whereof 
we  yield  with  all  good  will,  to  that  which  your  honourable 
letters  import;  as  your  kindness,  and  the  bond  of  our 
ancient  amity  and  league,  requireth  and  deserveth.  Your 
assured  friend.  The  State  of  Teinplaria." 

"From  Templaria,  the  18th  of 
December,  1594. 


The  Order  of  the  Prince  of  Purpoole's  Proceedings,  with 
his  Officers  and  Attendants,  at  his  honourable  Inthroni- 
zation;  which  was  likewise  observed  in  all  his  Solemn 
Marches  on  Grands  Days,  and  like  occasions ;  which  place 
every  Officer  did  duly  attend,  during  the  Reign  of  His 
Highness 's  Government. 

A  Marshal.  A  Marshal. 

Trumpets.  Trumpets. 

Pursuevant  at  Arms,  Layne. 

Townsmen  in  the  Prince's    Yeomen  of  the  Guard,  three 
Livery,  with  halberts.  couples. 

10 


Captain  of  tlie  Guard,  Grimes. 
Baron  of  the  Grand  Port,     Baron  of   the   Petty  Port, 


Dudley. 

Baron  of  the  Base  Port, 
Grante. 

Gentlemen  for  Entertain- 
ment, three  couples, 
Binge,  &c. 


Williams. 

Baron  of  the  New  Port, 
Lovel. 

Gentlemen  for  Entertain- 
ment, three  couples, 
Wentivortli,  Zukendeu, 
Forrest. 


Lieutenant  of  the  Pensioners,  Tousled. 
Gentlemen  Pensioners,  twelve  couples,  viz- 


Lawson. 
Devereux. 
Stapleton. 
Daniel. 


Rotts. 
Anderson. 
Glascott. 
Elken. 


Davison, 
cum  reliquis. 


Chief  Ranger,  and  Master  of  the  Game,  Forrest. 

Master  of  the  Revels,  Lam-  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the 

hert.  Prince's  Bench,  Creiv. 

Master    of    the    Revellers,  Master    of    the    Ordnance, 

T  every.  Fitz-Williams. 

r^     ,   ■       i?  4.1      T5      •         „  Lieutenant   of   the   Tower, 
Captain  of  the  Pensioners, 


Cooke. 
Sewer,  Archer. 

Carver,  Moseley. 

Another  Sewer,  Dreivry. 

Cup-bearer,  Painter. 

Groom  Porter,  Bennet. 

Sheriff,  Leach. 


Lloyd. 

Master  of  the  Jewel-house, 
D  art  en. 

Treasurer  of  the  House- 
hold, Smith. 

Knight  Marshal,  Bell. 

Master  of  the  Wardrobe, 
Conney.       • 

Comptroller  of  the  House- 
hold, Bonthe. 


u 


Clerk  of  the  Council,  Jones. 

Clerk  of  tlie  Parliament. 
Clerk     of     the     Crown, 

Doivnes. 
Orator,  Heke. 

Recorder,  Starhey. 
Solicitor,  Dunne. 
Serjeant,  Goldsmith. 
Speaker  of  the  Parliament, 

Bellen. 
Commissary,  Greenwood. 

Attorney,  Holt. 

Serjeant,  Hitclicombe. 

Master  of  the  Requests, 
Faldo. 

Chancellor  of  the  Exche- 
quer, Kitts 

Master  of  the  Wards  and 
Idiots,  Ellis. 

Reader,  Cohh. 

Lord  Chief  Baron  of  the 
Exchequer,  Briggs. 

Master  of  the  Rolls,  Hetlen. 

Lord   Chief   Baron  of  the 

Common  Pleas,  Dam- 

porte. 
The  Shield  of  Pegasus,  for 

the   Inner   Temple,   Sce- 

vington. 
Serjeant  at  Arms  with  the 

Sword,  Glascott. 
Gentleman  Usher,  Paylor, 


Bishop  of  St.  Giles  in  the 

Fields,  Dandye. 
Steward  of  the  Household, 

Smith. 
Lord  Warden  of  the  Four 

Ports,  Damporte. 
Secretary  of  State,  Jones. 
Lord  Admiral,  Cecill  (Rich- 
ard). 
Lord  Treasurer,  Morrey. 
Lord    Great    Chamberlain, 

Southivorth. 
Lord  High  Constable. 
Lord  Marshal,  Knaplock. 
Lord  Privy  Seal,  Lampheiv. 
Lord   Chamberlain   of    the 

Household,  Marhham. 
Lord     High     Steward, 

Kempe. 
Lord  Chancellor,  Johnson. 
Archbishop  of  St.  Andrew's 

in  Holborn,  Bush. 
Serjeant  at  Arms  with  the 

Mace,  Flemming. 
Gentleman  Usher,  Chevett. 
The    Prince    of    Purpoole, 

Helmes. 
A  Page  of  Honour,  Wann- 

forde. 
Gentlemen    of    the    Privy 

Chamber,  six  couples. 
A  Page  of  Honour,  Butler 
{Roger). 


12 


The  Shield  of  the   Griffin,    Vice  -  Chamberlain,    Butler 

for  Gray's-Inn,  Wickliffe.         {Thomas). 

m     T^-         i   A  r)     7  •        Master  of  the  Horse,  Fitz- 

The  King  at  Arms,  Perkin-         „     ,  ' 

Hugh. 

Yeomen     ot     the     Guards, 

The    Great    Shield    of    the        three  couples. 

Prince's  Arms,  Cohley.        Townsmen  in  Liveries. 

The  Family  and  Followers. 


Upon  the  20th  day  of  December,  being  St.  Thomas's 
Eve,  the  Prince,  with  all  his  train  in  order,  as  above 
set  down,  marched  from  his  lodging  to  the  Great  Hall : 
and  there  took  his  place  in  his  throne,  under  a  rich  cloth 
of  state:  his  Counsellors  and  great  Lords  were  placed 
about  him;  and  before  him,  below  the  halfe  pace,  at  a 
table,  sate  his  learned  Council  and  Lawyers;  the  rest  of 
the  officers  and  attendants  took  their  proper  place,  as 
belonged  to  their  condition. 

Then  the  Trumpets  were  commanded  to  sound  thrice; 
which  being  done,  the  King  at  Arms,  in  his  rich  surcoat 
of  arms,  stood  forth  before  the  Prince,  and  proclaimed 
his  style,  as  followeth: 

*'By  the  sacred  laws  of  arms,  and  authorized  cer- 
monies  of  the  same  (maugre  the  conceit  of  any  malecon- 
tent)  I  do  pronounce  my  Sovereign  Liege  Lord  Sir  Henry, 
rightfully  to  be  the  high  and  mighty  Prince  of  Purpoole, 
Archduke  of  Stapnlia  and  Bernardia,  Duke  of  the  High 
and  Nether  Holhorn,  Marquis  of  St.  Giles's  and  Totten- 
ham, Count  Palatine  of  Bloomshury  and  Clerkenivell, 
Great  Lord  of  the  Cantons  of  Islington,  &c.  Knight  of 
the  most  honourable  Order  of  the  Helmet,  and  Sovereign 
of  the  same." 

13 


After  that  the  King  at  Arms  had  thus  proclaimed  his 
style,  the  trumpets  sounded  again,  and  then  entered  the 
Prince's  Champion,  all  in  compleat  armour,  on  horse- 
back, and  so  came  riding  round  about  the  fire ;  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  hall  stayed,  and  made  his  challenge,  in  these 
words  following: 

"If  there  be  any  man,  of  high  degree  or  low,  that  will 
say  that  my  Sovereign  is  not  rightly  Prince  of  Purpoole, 
as  by  his  King  at  Arms  right-now  hath  been  proclaimed, 
I  am  ready  here  to  maintain,  that  he  lieth  as  a  false 
traitor;  and  I  do  challenge  in  combat,  to  fight  with  him, 
either  now,  or  at  any  time  or  place  appointed:  and  in 
token  hereof  I  gage  my  gauntlet,  as  the  Prince's  true 
Knight,  and  his  Champion." 

AVhen  the  Champion  had  thus  made  his  challenge,  he 
departed.  Then  the  trumpets  were  commanded  to  sound, 
and  the  King  at  Arms  blazoned  the  Prince  his  Highness 's 
arms,  as  followeth: 

"The  most  mighty  Prince  of  Purpoole,  &c.,  beareth  his 
shield  of  the  highest  Jupiter.  In  point,  a  sacred  imperial 
diadem,  safely  guarded  by  the  helmet  of  the  great  god- 
dess Pallas,  from  the  violence  of  darts,  bullets,  and  bolts 
of  Saturn,  Momus,  and  the  Idiot;  all  environed  with  the 
ribband  of  loyalty,  having  a  pendant  of  the  most  heroical 
Order  of  Knighthood  of  the  Helmet;  the  word  hereunto, 
Sic  virtus  honorem.  For  his  Highness 's  crest  the  glor- 
ious planet  Sol,  coursing  through  twelve  signs  of  the  Zo- 
diack,  on  a  celestial  globe,  moved  upon  two  poles  Arctick 
and  Antartick;  with  this  motto,  Duni  totiim  peregraverit 
orbem.  All  set  upon  a  chapeiv:  Mars  turned  up,  Luna 
mantelled,  Sapphire  doubted  pearl,  supported  by  two 
anciently  renowned  and  glorious  Griff yns,  which  have 
been  always  in  league  with  the  honourable  Pegasus." 

14 


Tlie  conceit  hereof  was  to  shew,  that  the  Prince,  whose 
private  arms  were  three  hehnets,  should  defend  his  hon- 
our by  virtue,  from  reprehensions  of  male-contents,  car- 
pers, and  fools.  The  ribband  of  blue,  with  an  helmet 
pendant,  in  imitation  of  St.  George.  In  his  crest,  his 
government  for  the  twelve  days  of  Christmas  was  re- 
sembled to  the  Sun's  passing  the  twelve  signs,  though 
the  Prince's  course  had  some  odd  degrees  beyond  that 
time;  but  he  was  wholly  supported  by  the  Griffyns;  for 
Gray's  Inn  Gentlemen,  and  not  the  Treasure  of  the  House, 
was  charged.  The  words.  Sic  virtus  honorem,  that  his 
virtue  should  defend  his  honour,  whilst  he  had  run  his 
whole  course  of  dominion,  without  any  either  eclipse  or 
retrogradation. 

After  these  things  thus  done,  the  Attorney  stood  up,  and 
made  a  Speech  of  gratulation  to  the  Prince;  and  therein 
shewed  what  great  happiness  was  like  to  ensue,  by  the 
election  of  so  noble  and  vertuous  a  Prince  as  then  reigned 
over  them;  rightly  extolling  the  nobility,  vertue,  puis- 
sance, and  the  singular  perfections  of  his  Sovereign; 
whereby  he  took  occasion  also  to  move  the  subjects  to  be 
forward  to  perform  all  obedience  and  service  to  his  Ex- 
cellency; as  also  to  furnish  his  wants,  if  so  be  that  it 
were  requisite;  and,  in  a  word,  perswaded  the  people, 
that  they  were  happy  in  having  such  a  Prince  to  rule  over 
them;  and  likewise  assured  the  Prince,  that  he  also  was 
most  happy,  in  having  rule  over  so  dutiful  and  loving 
subjects,  that  would  not  think  any  thing,  were  it  lands, 
goods,  or  life,  too  dear  to  be  at  his  Highness 's  command 
and  service. 

The  Prince's  Highness  made  again  this  answer:  '^That 
he  did  acknowledge  himself  to  be  deeply  bound  to  their 
merits ;  and  in  that  regard  did  promise,  that  he  would  be 

15 


a  gracious  and  loving  Prince  to  so  well  deserving  sub- 
jects." And  concluded  with  good  liking  and  commenda- 
tions of  their  proceedings. 

Then  the  Sollicitor,  having  certain  great  old  books  and 
records  lying  before  him,  made  this  Speech  to  his  Hon- 
our, as  followeth : 

"Most  Excellent  Prince, 

"High  superiority  and  dominion  is  illustrated  and 
adorned  by  the  humble  services  of  noble  and  mighty 
personages :  and  therefore,  amidst  the  garland  of  your 
royalties  of  your  crown,  this  is  a  principal  flower,  that 
in  your  provinces  and  territories,  divers  mighty  and  puis- 
sant potentates  are  your  homagers  and  vassals;  and^ 
although  infinite  are  your  feodaries,  which  by  their  ten- 
ures do  perform  royal  service  to  your  sacred  person,  pay 
huge  sums  into  your  treasury  and  exchequer,  and  main- 
tain whole  legions  for  the  defence  of  your  country:  yet 
some  special  persons  there  are  charged  by  their  tenures, 
to  do  special  service  at  this  your  glorious  inthronization ; 
whose  tenures,  for  their  strangeness,  are  admirable;  for 
their  value,  inestimable :  and  for  their  worthiness,  in- 
comparable; the  particulars  whereof  do  here  appear  in 
your  Excellency's  records,  in  the  book  of  Doomsday,  re- 
maining in  your  Exchequer,  in  the  50th  and  500tli  chest 
there. ' ' 


The  Names  of  Such  Homagers  and  Tributaries  as  hold 
any  Signiories,  Lordships,  Lands,  Privileges,  or  Liberties, 
Tinder  his  Honour,  and  the  Tenures  and  Services  belong- 
ing to  the  same,  as  followeth : 

Alfonso  de  Stapulia,  and  Davillo  de  Bernardia,  hold 
the  arch-dukedoms   of  Stapulia  and  Bernardia,  of  the 

16 


Prince  of  Purpoole,  by  grand-serjeantry,  and  castle- 
guard  of  the  Castles  of  Stapulia  and  Bernardia,  and  to 
right  and  relieve  all  wants  and  wrongs  of  all  ladies,  ma- 
trons, and  maids,  within  the  said  arch-dutchy;  and  ren- 
dering, on  the  day  of  his  Excellency's  coronation,  a 
■coronet  of  gold,  and  yearly  five  hundred  millions  sterling. 

Marotto  Marquarillo  de  Holborn  holdeth  the  manors 
of  High  and  Nether  Holborn  by  cornage  in  capite  of  the 
Prince  of  Purpoole,  and  rendering  on  the  day  of  his 
Honour's  coronation,  for  every  of  the  Prince's  pensioners, 
one  milk-white  doe,  to  be  bestowed  on  them  by  the  Prince, 
for  a  favour,  or  New-year's-night-gift:  and  rendring 
yearly  two  hundred  millions  sterling. 

Lucij  Negro,  Abbess  de  Clerkenwell,  holdeth  the  nun- 
nery of  Clerkenwell,  with  the  lands  and  privileges  there- 
imto  belonging,  of  the  Prince  of  Purpoole,  by  night-serv- 
ice in  Cauda,  and  to  find  a  choir  of  nuns,  with  burning 
lamps,  to  chaunt  Placebo  to  the  Gentlemen  of  the  Prince's 
Privy  Chamber,  on  the  day  of  his  Excellency's  corona- 
tion. 

Ruffiano  de  St.  Giles's  holdeth  the  town  of  St.  Giles's 
by  cornage  in  Cauda,  of  the  Prince  of  Purpoole,  and 
rendring  on  the  day  of  his  Excellency's  coronation,  two 
ambling,  easie-paced  gennets,  for  the  Prince's  two  pages 
of  honour;  and  rendring  yearly  two  hundred  millions 
sterling. 

Cornelius  Combaldus  de  Tottemham.,  holdeth  the  grange 
of  Tottenham  of  the  Prince  of  Purpoole,  in  free  and  com- 
mon soccage,  by  the  twenty-fourth  part  of  a  night's  fee 
and  by  rendring  to  the  Master  of  the  Wardrobe  so  much 
cunny  furr  as  will  serve  to  line  his  night-cap,  and  face 
a  pair  of  mittins;  and  yielding  yearly  four  quarters  of 
rye,  and  threescore  double  duckets  on  the  feast  of  St. 
Pancras. 

17 


Bartholomeus  de  Bloomshury  lioldeth  a  thousand  hides 
in  Bloomshury,  of  the  Prince  of  Purpoole,  by  escuage  in- 
certain,  and  rendring  on  the  day  of  his  Excellency's 
coronation  one  Amazon,  with  a  ring,  to  be  run  at  by  the 
Knights  of  the  Prince's  band,  and  the  mark  to  be  his 
trophy  that  shall  be  adjudged  the  bravest  courser;  and 
rendring  yearly  fifty  millions  sterling. 

Amarillo  de  Paddington  holdeth  an  hundred  ox-gangs 
of  land  in  Paddington,  of  the  Prince  of  Purpoole,  by 
petty-serjeantry,  that  when  the  Prince  maketh  a  voyage 
royal  against  the  Amazons,  to  subdue  and  bring  them 
under,  he  do  find,  at  his  own  charges,  a  thousand  men,  well 
furnished  with  long  and  strong  morris-pikes,  black  bills, 
or  halberts,  with  morians  on  their  heads;  and  rendring 
yearly  four  hundred  millions  sterling. 

Baivdivine  de  Islington  holdeth  the  town  of  Islington 
of  the  Prince  of  Purpoole,  by  grand-serjeantry;  and 
rendring,  at  the  coronation  of  his  Honour,  for  every 
maid  in  Islington,  continuing  a  virgin  after  the  age  of 
fourteen  years,  one  hundred  thousand  millions  sterling. 

Jordano  Sartano  de  Kentish  Town  holdeth  the  Canton 
of  Kentish  Town  of  the  Prince  of  Purpoole,  in  tail-gen- 
eral, at  the  will  of  the  said  Prince,  as  of  his  mannor  of 
Deep-Inn,  in  his  province  of  Islington  by  the  Veirge, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  said  mannor;  that  when 
any  of  the  Prince's  officers  or  family  do  resort  thither, 
for  change  of  air,  or  else  variety  of  diet,  as  weary  of 
court  life,  and  such  provision,  he  do  provide  for  a  mess 
of  the  Yeomen  of  the  Guard,  or  any  of  the  black-guard, 
or  such  like  inferior  officers  so  coming,  eight  loins  of 
mutton,  which  are  sound,  well-fed,  and  not  infectious; 
and  for  every  Gentleman  Pensioner,  or  other  of  good 
quality,  coneys,  pidgeons,  chickens,  or  such  dainty  mor- 

18 


sels.  But  the  said  Jordano  is  not  bound  by  his  tenure, 
to  boil,  roast,  or  bake  the  same,  or  meddle  further  than 
the  bare  delivery  of  the  said  cates,  and  so  to  leave  them 
to  the  handling,  dressing,  and  breaking  up  of  themselves : 
and  rendring  for  a  fine  to  the  Prince  one  thousand  five 
hundred  marks. 

Markasius  Rusticanus ,  and  Hieronymus  Paludensis  de 
Knightsb ridge,  do  hold  the  village  of  Knightsbridge,  with 
the  appurtenances  in  Knightshridge,  of  the  Prince  of 
Purpoole,  by  villenage  in  base  tenure,  that  they  two  shall 
jointly  find  three  hundred  able  and  sufficient  labouring 
men,  with  instruments  and  tools  necessary  for  the  making 
clean  of  all  channels,  sinks,  creeks,  and  gutters,  within 
all  the  cities  of  his  Highness 's  dominions;  and  also  shall 
cleanse  and  keep  clean  all  and  all  manner  of  ponds, 
pudules,  dams,  springs,  locks,  runlets,  becks,  water  gates, 
sluces,  passages,  strait  entrances,  and  dangerous  quag- 
mires ;  and  also  shall  repair  and  mend  all  common  high 
and  low-ways,  by  laying  stones  in  the  pits  and  naughty 
places  thereof :  and  also  that  they  do  not  suffer  the  afore- 
said places  to  go  to  decay  through  their  default,  and  lack 
of  looking  unto,  or  neglect  of  doing  their  parts  and  duties 
therein. 

The  tenures  being  thus  read  by  the  Solicitor,  then  were 
called  by  their  names  those  homagers  that  were  to  per- 
form their  services,  according  to  their  tenures. 

Upon  the  summons  given,  Alphonso  de  Stapulia,  and 
Davillo  de  Bernardia,  came  to  the  Prince's  foot-stool,  and 
offered  a  coronet,  according  to  their  service,  and  did 
homage  to  his  Highness  in  solemn  manner,  kneeling,  ac- 
cording to  the  order  in  such  cases  accustomed.  The  rest 
that  appeared  were  deferred  to  better  leisure ;  and  they 
that  made  default  were  fined  at  great  sums,  and  their 
defaults  recorded. 

19 


There  was  a  Parliament  intended,  and  summoned ;  but 
by  reason  that  some  special  officers  that  were  by  neces- 
sary occasions  urged  to  be  absent,  without  whose  presence 
it  could  not  be  performed,  it  was  dashed.  And  in  that 
point  our  purpose  was  frustrate,  saving  only  in  two 
branches  of  it:  the  one  was  a  subsidy  granted  by  the 
Commons  of  his  dominions,  towards  the  support  of  his 
Highness 's  port  and  sports.  The  other  was,  by  his 
gracious,  general,  and  free  pardon. 

HENEY  Prince  of  Piirpoole,  Arch-Duke  of  Stapulia  and 
Bernardia,  Duke  of  High  and  Nether  Holborn,  Mar- 
quis of  St.  Giles's  and  Tottenham,  Count  Palatine 
of  Bloomshury  and  Clerkenivell,  Great  Lord  of  the 
Cantons  of  Islington,  Kentish  Town,  Paddington,  and 
Knights-hridge,  Knight  of  the  most  heroicall  Order 
of  the  Helmet,  and  Sovereign  of  the  same;  to  all 
and  all  manner  of  Persons  to  wliome  these  Presents 
shall  appertain;  Greeting — 

*'In  tender  regard,  and  gracious  consideration  of  the 
humble  affection  of  our  loyal  lords  and  subjects ;  and  by 
understanding  that  by  often  violating  of  laudable  cus- 
toms, prescriptions,  and  laws,  divers  have  incurred  in- 
evitable and  incurable  dangers  of  lands,  goods,  life,  and 
members,  if  it  be  not  by  our  clemency  redressed,  re- 
spected, and  pardoned :  We  therefore,  hoping  for  better 
obedience  and  observation  of  our  said  laws  and  customs, 
do  grant  and  publish  this  our  General  and  Free  Pardon 
of  all  dangers,  pains,  penalties,  forfeitures  or  offences, 
whereunto  and  wherewith  they  are  now  charged,  or 
chargeable,  by  reason  of  mis-government,  mis-demeanour, 
mis-behaviour,  or  fault,  either  of  commission,  omission, 
or  otherwise  howsoever  or  whatsover. 

**It  is  therefore  Our  will  and  pleasure,  that  all  and 

20 


€very    public    person    and    persons,    whether    they    be 
strangers  or  naturals,  within  Our  dominions,  be  by  vir- 
tue hereof  excused,  suspended,  and  discharged  from  all 
and  all  manner  of  treasons,  contempts,   offences,  tres- 
passes,   forcible    entries,    intrusions,    disseisins,    torts, 
wrongs,    injuries,    over-throws,    over-thwartings,    cross- 
bitings,    coney-catchings,    frauds,    conclusions,    fictions, 
fractions,  fashions,  fancies,  or  ostentations :  also  all  and 
all  manner  of  errors,  misprisions,  mistakings,  overtak- 
ings,  double  dealings,  combinations,  confederacies,  con- 
junctions, oppositions,  interpositions,  suppositions,  and 
suppositaries :  also  all  and  all  manner  of  intermedlance 
or   medlance,    privy-searches,    routs    and    riots,    incom- 
brances,  pluralities,   formalities,  deformalities,   disturb- 
ances, duplicities,  jeofails  in  insufficiencies  or  defects: 
also  all  and  all  manner  of  sorceries,  inchantments,  con- 
jurations, spells,  or  charms :  all  destruction,  obstructions, 
and  constructions :  all  evasions,  invasions,  charges,  sur- 
charges,  discharges,   commands,   countermands,   checks, 
counterchecks,  and  counterbuffs:  also  all  and  all  manner 
of   inhibitions,    prohibitions,   insurrections,    corrections, 
conspiracies,    concavities,   coinings,   superfluities,  wash- 
ings, clippings,  and  shavings :  all  and  all  manner  of  multi- 
plications, inanities,  installations,  destinations,  constilla- 
tions,  necromancies,  and  incantations :  all  and  all  manner 
of  mis-feasance,  non-feasance,  or  too  much  feasance:  all 
attempts  or  adventures,  skirmages,  assaults,  grapplings, 
closings,  or  encounters :  all  mis-prisonments,  or  restraints 
of  body  or  member :  and  all  and  all  manner  of  pains  and 
penalties  personal  or  pecuniary  whatsoever,  committed, 
made,  or  done,  against  our  crown  and  dignity,  peace,  pre- 
rogatives, laws,  and  customs,  which  shall  not  herein  here- 
after be  in  some  sort  expressed,  mentioned,  intended,  or 
excepted. 

21 


^'Except,  and  always  fore-prized  out  of  this  Ge^ieral 
and  Free  Pardon,  all  and  every  such  person  and  persons 
as  shall  imagine,  think,  suppose,  or  speak  and  utter  any 
false,  seditious  ignominious,  or  slanderous  words,  reports, 
rumours,  or  opinions,  against  the  dignity,  or  his  Excel- 
lency's honourable  actions,  counsels,  consultations,  or 
state  of  the  Prince,  his  court,  counsellors,  nobles,  knights, 
and  officers. 

''Except,  all  such  persons  as  now  or  hereafter  shall  be 
advanced,  admitted,  or  induced  to  any  corporal  or  per- 
sonal benefice,  administration,  charge,  or  cure,  of  any 
manner  of  personage,  and  shall  not  be  personally  resident, 
commorant,  or  incumbent  in,  at,  or  upon  the  whole,  or 
some  part  or  parcel  of  the  said  benefice,  administration, 
or  cure ;  but  absent  himself  wilfully  or  negligently,  by  the 
space  of  four-score  days,  nights,  or  hours,  and  not  hav- 
ing any  special  substituted,  instituted,  or  inducted  Vicar, 
incumbant,  or  concumbent,  daily,  or  any  other  time,  duly 
to  express,  enjoy,  and  supply  his  absence,  room,  or  vaca- 
tion. 

"Except,  all  such  persons  as  have,  or  shall  have  any 
charge,  occasion,  chance,  opportunity,  or  possible  means 
to  entertain,  serve,  recreate,  delight,  or  discourse,  with 
any  vertuous  or  honourable  lady,  or  gentlewoman,  matron, 
or  maid,  publicly,  privately,  or  familiarly,  and  shall  faint, 
fail,  or  be  deemed  to  faint  or  fail  in  courage,  or  counten- 
ance, semblance,  gesture,  voice,  speech,  or  attempt,  or  in 
act  or  adventure,  or  in  any  other  matter,  thing,  manner, 
mystery,  or  accomplishment,  due,  decent,  or  appertinent 
to  her  or  their  honour,  diginity,  desert,  expectation,  de- 
sire, affection,  inclination,  allowance,  or  acceptance;  to 
be  daunted,  dismayed,  or  to  stand  mute,  idle,  frivolous 
or  defective,  or  otherwise  dull,  contrary,  sullen,  mal-con- 
tent,  melancholy,  or  different  from  the  profession,  pracr 

22 


tice,  and  perfection,  of  a  compleat  and  consummate  gen- 
tleman or  courtier. 

"Except,  all  such  persons  as  by  any  force,  or  fraud, 
and  dissimulation,  shall  procure,  be  it  by  letters,  prom- 
ises, messages,  contracts,  and  other  inveaglings,  any  lady 
or  gentlewoman,  woman  or  maid,  sole  or  covert,  into  his 
possession  or  convoy,  and  shall  convey  her  into  any  place 
where  she  is  or  shall  be  of  full  power  and  opportunity  to 
bargain,  give,  take,  buy,  sell,  or  change;  and  shall  suffer 
her  to  escape  and  return  at  large,  without  any  such  bar- 
gain, sale,  gift,  or  exchange  performed  and  made,  con- 
trary to  former  expected,  expressed,  employed  contract 
or  consent. 

"Except,  all  such  persons  as  by  any  slander,  libel, 
word,  or  note,  bewray,  betray,  defame,  or  suffer  to  be 
defamed,  any  woman,  wife,  widow,  or  maid,  in  whose 
affairs,  secrets,  suits,  services,  causes,  actions,  or  other 
occupations,  he  hath  been  at  any  time  conversant,  em- 
ployed, or  trained  in,  or  admitted  unto,  contrary  to  his 
plighted  promise,  duty,  and  allegiance;  and  to  the  utter 
disparagement  of  others  hereafter  to  be  received,  re- 
tained, embraced,  or  liked  in  like  services,  performances, 
or  advancements. 

"Except,  all  intrusions  and  forcible  entries  had,  made, 
or  done,  into  or  upon  any  of  the  Prince's  widows,  or 
wards  female,  without  special  licence ;  and  all  fines  passed 
for  the  same. 

"Except,  all  concealed  fools,  idiots,  and  mad-men  that 
have  not  to  this  present  sued  forth  any  livery  of  their 
wits,  nor  ouster  le  mayne  of  their  senses,  until  the  Prince 
have  had  primer  seisin  thereof. 

"Except,  all  such  persons  as,  for  their  lucre  and  gain 
of  living,  do  keep  or  maintain,  or  else  frequent  and  resort 
unto,  any  common  house,  alley,  open  or  privy  place  of 

23 


unlawful  exercises ;  as  of  vaulting,  bowling,  or  any  for- 
bidden manner  of  shooting ;  as  at  pricks  in  common  high- 
ways, ways  of  sufferance  or  ease  to  market-towns  or 
fairs,  or  at  short  butts,  not  being  of  sufficient  length  and 
distance,  or  at  any  roving  or  unconstant  mark,  or  that 
shoot  any  shafts,  arrows,  or  bolts,  of  unseasonable  wood 
or  substances,  or  without  an  head,  or  of  too  short  and 
small  size,  contrary  to  the  customs,  laws,  and  statutes,  in 
such  cases  made  and  provided. 

"Except,  all  such  persons  as  shall  put  or  cast  into  any 
waters,  salt  or  fresh,  or  any  brooks,  brinks,  chinks,  pits, 
pools,  or  ponds,  any  snare,  or  other  engine,  to  danger  or 
destroy  the  fry  or  breed  of  any  young  lampreys,  boards, 
loaches,  bullheads,  cods, whitings,  pikes,  ruffs,  or  pearches, 
or  any  other  young  store  of  spawns  or  fries,  in  any  flood- 
gate, sluice,  pipe,  or  tail  of  a  mill,  or  any  other  streight 
stream,  brook,  or  river,  salt  or  fresh ;  the  same  fish  being 
then  of  insufficiency  in  age  and  quantity,  or  at  that  time 
not  in  convenient  season  to  be  used  and  taken. 

"Except,  all  such  persons  as  shall  hunt  in  the  night,, 
or  pursue  any  bucks  or  does;  or  with  painted  faces, 
vizards,  or  other  disguisings,  in  the  day-time;  or  any 
such  as  do  wrongfully  and  unlawfully,  without  consent  or 
leave  given  or  granted,  by  day  or  by  night,  break  or 
enter  into  any  park  impailed,  or  other  several  close, 
inclosure,  chace,  or  purliew,  inclosed  or  compassed  with 
wall,  pale,  grove,  hedge,  or  bushes,  used  still  and  occupied 
for  the  keeping,  breeding,  or  cherishing  of  young  deer, 
prickets,  or  any  other  game,  fit  to  be  preserved  and 
nourished;  or  such  as  do  hunt,  chase,  or  drive  out  any 
such  deer,  to  the  prejudice  and  decay  of  such  game  and 
pass-times  within  our  dominions. 

"Except,  all  such  persons  as  shall  shoot  in  any  hand' 
gun,  demy-hag,  or  hag  butt,  either  half-shot,  or  bullet,. 

24 


any  fowl,  bird,  or  beast ;  either  at  any  deer,  red  or  fallow,. 
or  any  other  thing  or  things,  except  it  be  a  butt  set,  laid,, 
or  raised  in  some  convenient  place,  fit  for  the  same  pur- 
pose. 

'' Except,  all  and  every  artificer,  crafts-man,  labourer,, 
householder,  or  servant,  being  a  layman,  which  hath  not 
lands  to  the  yearly  value  of  forty  shillings ;  or  any  clerk, 
not  admitted  or  advanced  to  the  benefice  of  the  value  of 
ten  pounds  per  anmmi,  that  with  any  grey-hound,  mon- 
grel, mastiff,  spaniel,  or  other  dogs,  doth  hunt  in  other- 
men's  parks,  warrens,  and  coney-grees;  or  use  any  fer- 
rets, hare-pipes,  snarles,  ginns,  or  other  knacks  or  devises,, 
to  take  or  destroy  does,  hares,  or  coneys,  or  other  gentle- 
men's game,  contrary  to  the  form  and  meaning  of  a 
statute  in  that  case  provided. 

"Except,  all  merchant-adventurers,  that  ship  or  lade 
any  wares  or  merchandize,  into  any  port  or  creek,  in 
any  Flemish,  French,  or  Dutch,  or  other  outlandish  hoy,, 
ship,  or  bottom,  whereof  the  Prince,  nor  some  of  his 
subjects,  be  not  possessioners  and  proprietaries ;  and  the 
masters  and  mariners  of  the  same  vessels  and  bottoms  to 
be  the  Prince's  subjects;  whereby  our  own  shipping  is 
many  times  unfraught,  contrary  unto  divers  statutes  in 
that  case  provided. 

"Except,  all  owners,  masters  and  pursers  of  our  ships,. 
as,  for  the  transportation  of  freight  from  one  port  to 
another,  have  received  and  taken  any  sums  of  money 
above  the  statute-allowance  in  that  behalf,  viz.,  for  every 
dry  fatt,  Qd.;  for  every  bale,  one  foot  long.  Is.;  for  every 
hogshead,  pipe,  or  tierce  of  wine,  55. 

"Except,  all  decayed  houses  of  husbandry,  and  house- 
wifery, and  enclosures,  and  severalties,  converting  of  any 
lands  used  and  occupied  to  tillage  and  sowing,  into  pas- 
ture and  feeding ;  whereby  idleness  increaseth,  husbandry 

25 


and  housewifery  is  decayed,  and  towns  are  dis-peopled, 
contrary  to  the  statute  in  that  case  made  and  provided. 

"Except,  all  such  persons  as  shall  maliciously  and  wil- 
fully burn  or  cut,  or  caused  to  be  burned  or  cut,  any 
conduit,  or  trough,  pipe,  or  any  other  instrument  used 
as  a  means  of  conveyance  of  any  liquor,  water,  or  other 
kind  of  moisture. 

"Except,  all  commoners  within  any  forest,  chace,  moor, 
marsh,  heath,  or  other  waste  ground,  which  hath  put  to 
pg,sture  into,  or  upon  the  same,  any  stoned  horses,  not 
being  of  the  altitude  and  heighth  contained  in  the  statute 
in  that  case  made  and  provided  for  the  good  breed  of 
strong  and  large  horses,  which  is  much  decayed;  little 
stoned  horses,  nags,  and  hobbies,  being  put  to  pasture 
there,  and  in  such  commons. 

"Except,  all  fugitives,  failers,  and  flinchers,  that  with 
shame  and  discredit  are  fled  and  vanished  out  of  the 
Prince's  dominions  of  Purpoole,  and  especially  from  his 
Court  at  Gray  a,  this  time  of  Christmas,  to  withdraw 
themselves  from  his  Honour's  service  and  attendance, 
contrary  to  their  duty  and  allegiance,  and  to  their  per- 
petual ignominy,  and  incurable  loss  of  credit  and  good 
opinion,  which  belongeth  to  ingenuous  and  well-minded 
gentlemen. 

"Except,  all  concealments,  and  wrongful  detainments 
of  any  subsidies  and  revenues,  benevolence,  and  receipts 
upon  privy  seals,  &c. 

"Except,  all,  and  all  manner  of  offences,  pains,  penal- 
ties, mulcts,  fines,  amerciaments,  and  punishments, 
corporal  and  pecuniary,  whatsover.' 


J  J 


The  Pardon  being  thus  read  by  the  Solicitor,  the  Prince 
made  a  short  speech  to  his  subjects,  wherein  he  gave 
them  to  understand,  that  although  in  clemency  he  par- 

26 


cloned  all  offences  to  that  present  time;  yet,  notwith- 
standing, his  meaning  thereby  was  not  to  give  any  the 
least  occasion  of  presumption  in  breaking  his  laws,  and 
the  customs  laudably  used  through  his  dominions  and 
government.  Neither  did  he  now  graciously  forgive  all 
errors  and  misdemeanours  as  he  would  hereafter  severely 
and  strictly  reform  the  same.  His  will  was,  that  justice 
should  be  administered  to  every  subject,  without  any 
partiality ;  and  that  the  wronged  should  make  their  causes 
known  to  himself,  by  petition  to  the  Master  of  the  Re- 
quests :  and  further  excused  the  causes  of  the  great  taxes, 
and  sums  of  money,  that  were  levied,  by  reason  that  his 
predecessors  had  not  left  his  coffers  full  of  treasure,  nor 
his  crown  so  furnished,  as  became  the  dignity  of  so  great 
a  Prince. 

Then  his  Highness  called  for  the  Master  of  the  Revels, 
and  willed  him  to  pass  the  time  in  dancing :  So  his  gen- 
tlemen-pensioners and  attendants,  very  gallantly  ap- 
pointed, in  thirty  couples,  danced  the  old  measures,  and 
their  galliards,  and  other  kinds  of  dances,  revelling  until 
it  was  very  late ;  and  so  spent  the  rest  of  their  perform- 
ance in  those  exercises,  until  it  pleased  his  Honour  to 
take  his  way  to  his  lodging,  with  sound  of  trumpets,  and 
his  attendants  in  order,  as  is  above  set  down. 

There  was  the  conclusion  of  the  first  grand  night,  the 
performance  whereof  increased  the  expectation  of  those 
things  that  were  to  ensue;  insomuch  that  the  common 
report  amongst  all  strangers  was  so  great,  and  the  expec- 
tation of  our  proceedings  so  extraordinary,  that  it  urged 
us  to  take  upon  us  a  greater  state  than  was  at  first  in- 
tended: and  therefore,  besides  all  the  stately  and  sumptu- 
ous service  that  was  continually  done  the  Prince,  in  very 
princely  manner;  and  besides  the  daily  revels,  and  such 
like  sports,  which  were  usual,  there  was  intended  divers 

27 


grand  nights,  for  the  entertainment  of  strangers  to  our 
pass-times  and  sports. 

The  next  grand  night  was  intended  to  be  upon  Inno- 
cents-day at  night;  at  which  time  tliere  was  a  great 
presence  of  lords,  ladies,  and  worshipful  personages,  that 
did  expect  some  notable  performance  at  that  time ;  which, 
indeed,  had  been  etfected,  if  the  multitude  of  beholders 
had  not  been  so  exceeding  great,  that  thereby  there  was 
no  convenient  room  for  those  that  were  actors ;  by  reason 
whereof,  very  good  inventions  and  conceipts  could  not 
have  opportunity  to  be  applauded,  which  otherwise  would 
have  been  great  contentations  to  the  beholders.  Against 
which  time,  our  friend,  the  Inner  Temple,  determined  to 
send  their  Ambassador  to  our  Prince  of  State,  as  sent 
from  Frederick  Templarius,  their  Emperor,  who  was  then 
busied  in  his  wars  against  the  Turk.  The  Ambassador 
came  very  gallantly  appointed,  and  attended  by  a  great 
number  of  brave  gentlemen,  which  arrived  at  our  Court 
about  nine  of  the  clock  at  night.  Upon  their  coming 
thither,  the  King  at  Arms  gave  notice  to  the  Prince,  then 
sitting  in  his  chair  of  state  in  the  hall,  that  there  was 
to  come  to  his  Court  an  Ambassador  from  his  ancient 
friend  the  State  of  Templaria,  which  desired  to  have 
present  access  unto  his  Highness ;  and  shewed  his  Honour 
further,  that  he  seemed  to  be  of  very  good  sort,  because 
he  was  so  well  attended;  and  therefore  desired,  that  it 
would  please  his  Honour  that  some  of  his  Nobles  and 
Lords  might  conduct  him  to  his  Highness 's  presence, 
which  was  done.  So  he  was  brought  in  very  solemnly, 
with  sound  of  trumpets,  the  King  at  Arms  and  Lords  of 
Purpoole  making  to  his  company,  which  marched  before 
him  in  order.  He  was  received  very  kindly  of  the  Prince, 
and  placed  in  a  chair  besides  his  Highness,  to  the  end 
that  he  might  be  a  partaker  of  the  sports  intended.    But 

28 


first  he  made  a  speech  to  the  Prince,  wherein  he  declared 
how  his  excellent  renown  and  fame  was  known  through- 
out all  the  whole  world ;  and  that  the  report  of  his  great- 
ness was  not  contained  within  the  bounds  of  the  Ocean, 
but  had  come  to  the  ears  of  his  noble  Sovereign,  Fred- 
erick Templarius,  where  he  is  now  warring  against  the 
Turks,  the  known  enemies  to  all  Christendom ;  who,  hav- 
ing heard  that  his  Excellency  kept  his  Court  at  Gray  a 
this  Christmas,  thought  it  to  stand  with  his  ancient  league 
of  amity  and  near  kindness,  that  so  long  had  been  con- 
tinued and  increased  by  their  noble  ancestors  of  famous 
memory  and  desert,  to  gratulate  his  happiness,  and 
flourishing  estate;  and  in  that  regard,  had  sent  him  his 
Ambassador,  to  be  residing  at  his  Excellency's  Court,  in 
honour  of  his  greatness,  and  token  of  his  tender  love  and 
good-will  he  beareth  to  his  Higness;  the  confirmation 
whereof  he  especially  required,  and  by  all  means  possible 
would  study  to  increase  and  eternize ;  which  function  he 
was  the  more  willing  to  accomplish,  because  our  State  of 
Or  ay  a  did  grace  Templaria  with  the  presence  of  an  Am- 
bassador about  thirty  years  since,  upon  like  occasion. 

Our  Prince  made  him  this  answer:  That  he  did  ac- 
knowledge that  the  great  kindness  of  his  Lord,  whereby 
he  doth  invite  to  further  degrees  in  firm  and  loyal  friend- 
ship, did  deserve  all  honourable  commendations,  and  ef- 
fectual accomplishment,  that  by  any  means  might  be 
devised ;  and  that  he  accounted  himself  happy,  by  having 
the  sincere  and  steadfast  love  of  so  gracious  and  re- 
newed a  Prince,  as  his  Lord  and  Master  deserved  to  be 
esteemed;  and  that  nothing  in  the  world  should  hinder 
the  due  observation  of  so  inviolable  a  band  as  he  esteemed 
his  favour  and  good-will.  Withal,  he  entered  into  com- 
mendation of  his  noble  and  courageous  enterprizes,  in 
that  he  chuseth  out  an  adversary  fit  for  his  greatness  to 

29 


encounter  with,  his  Honour  to  be  ilhistrated  by,  and 
such  an  enemy  to  all  Christendom,  as  that  the  glory  of 
his  actions  tend  to  the  safety  and  liberty  of  all  civility 
and  humanity:  yet,  notwithstanding  that  he  was  thus 
employed  in  this  action  of  honouring  us,  he  shewed  both 
his  honourable  mindfulnes  of  our  love  and  friendship, 
and  also  his  own  puissance,  that  can  afford  so  great  a 
number  of  brave  gentlemen,  and  so  gallantly  furnished 
and  accomplished  rand  so  concluded,  with  a  welcome  both 
to  the  Ambassador  himself  and  his  favourites,  for  their 
Lord  and  Master's  sake,  and  so  for  their  own  good  deserts 
and  condition. 

When  the  Ambassador  was  placed,  as  aforesaid,  and 
that  there  was  something  to  be  performed  for  the  delighl 
of  the  beholders,  there  arose  such  a  disordered  tumult 
and  crowd  upon  the  stage,  that  there  was  no  opportunity 
to  effect  that  which  was  intended :  there  came  so  great  a 
number  of  worshipful  personages  upon  the  stage  that 
might  not  be  displaced,  and  gentlewomen  whose  sex  did 
privilege  them  from  violence,  that  when  the  Prince  and 
his  officers  had  in  vain,  a  good  while,  expected  and  en- 
deavoured a  reformation,  at  length  there  was  no  hope  of 
redress  for  that  present.  The  Lord  Ambassador  and  his 
train  thought  that  they  were  not  so  kindly  entertained 
as  was  before  expected,  and  thereupon  would  not  stay 
any  longer  at  that  time,  but,  in  a  sort,  discontented  and 
displeased.  After  their  departure,  the  throngs  and 
tumults  did  somewhat  cease,  although  so  much  of  them 
continued  as  was  able  to  disorder  and  confound  any  good 
inventions  whatsoever.  In  regard  whereof,  as  also  for 
that  the  sports  intended  were  especially  for  the  gracing 
the  Templarians,  it  was  thought  good  not  to  offer  any 
thing  of  account,  saving  dancing  and  revelling  with  gen- 
tlewomen; and  after  such  sports,  a  Comedy  of  Errors 

30 


(like  to  Plaiitiis  his  Meneclimiis )  was  played  by  tlie  play- 
ers. So  that  night  was  begun  and  continued  to  the  end 
in  nothing  but  confusion  and  errors;  whereupon,  it  was 
ever  afterwards  called,  "The  Night  of  Errors." 

This  mischanceful  accident  sorting  so  ill,  to  the  great 
prejudice  of  the  rest  of  our  proceedings,  was  a  great  dis- 
couragement and  disp'aragement  to  our  whole  state;  yet 
it  gave  occasion  to  the  lawyers  of  the  Prince's  Council^ 
the  next  night,  after  revels,  to  read  a  commission  of  Oyer 
and  Terminer,  directed  to  certain  Noblemen  and  Lords 
of  his  Plighness's  Council,  and  others,  that  they  should 
enquire,  or  cause  enquiry  to  be  made,  of  some  great  dis- 
orders and  abuses  lately  done  and  committed  within  his 
Highness 's  dominions  of  Purpoole,  especially  by  sorceries 
and  inchantments ;  and  namely,  of  a  great  witchcraft  used 
the  night  before,  whereby  there  were  great  disorders  and 
misdemeanours,  by  hurly-burlies,  crowds,  errors,  con- 
fusions, vain  representations,  and  shows,  to  the  utter  dis- 
credit of  our  state  and  policy. 

The  next  night  upon  this  occasion,  we  preferred  judg- 
ments thick  and  three-fold,  which  were  read  pulickly  by 
the  Clerk  of  the  Crown,  being  all  against  a  sprcerer  or 
conjurer  that  was  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  that  con- 
fused inconvenience.  Therein  was  contained,  How  he 
had  caused  the  stage  to  be  built,  and  scaffolds  to  be  reared 
to  the  top  of  the  house,  to  increase  expectation.  Also 
how  he  had  caused  divers  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and 
others  of  good  condition  to  be  invited  to  our  sports ;  alsO' 
our  dearest  friend  the  State  ofTemplaria,  to  be  disgraced,, 
and  disappointed  of  their  kind  entertainment,  deserved 
and  intended.  Also  that  he  caused  throngs  and  tumults,. 
crowds  and  outrages,  to  disturb  our  whole  proceedings. 
And  lastly,  that  he  had  foisted  a  company  of  base  and 
common  fellows,  to  make  up  our  disorders  with  a  play 

31 


of  Errors  and  Confusions ;  and  that  that  night  had  gained 
to  us  discredit,  and  itself  a  nickname  of  Errors.  All 
which  were  against  the  crown  and  dignity  of  our  Sover- 
eign Lord  the  Prince  of  Purpoole. 

Under  colour  of  these  proceedings,  were  laid  open  to 
the  view  all  the  causes  of  note  that  were  committed  by 
our  chiefest  statesmen  in  the  government  of  our  princi- 
pality ;  and  every  officer  in  any  great  place,  that  had  not 
performed  his  duty  in  that  service,  was  taxed  hereby,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest,  not  sparing  the  guard  and 
porterSj  that  suffered  so  many  disordered  persons  to 
enter  in  at  the  court-gates :  upon  whose  aforesaid  indict- 
ments the  prisoner  was  arraigned  at  the  bar,  being 
brought  thither  by  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower  (for  at 
that  time  the  stocks  were  graced  with  that  name) ;  and 
the  Sheriff  impannelled  a  jury  of  twenty-four  gentlemen, 
that  were  to  give  their  verdict  upon  the  evidence  given. 
The  prisoner  appealed  to  the  Prince  his  Excellency  for 
justice;  and  humbly  desired  that  it  would  please  his 
Highness  to  understand  the  truth  of  the  matter  by  his 
supplication,  which  he  had  ready  to  be  offered  to  the 
Master  of  the  Requests.  The  Prince  gave  leave  to  the 
Master  of  the  Requests,  that  he  should  read  the  petition ; 
wherein  was  a  disclosure  of  all  the  knavery  and  jug- 
gling of  the  Attorney  and  Solicitor,  which  had  brought 
all  this  law-stuff  on  purpose  to  blind  the  eyes  of  his  Ex- 
cellency and  all  the  honourable  Court  there,  going  about 
to  make  them  think  that  those  things  which  they  all  saw 
and  perceived  sensibly  to  be  in  very  deed  done,  and 
actually  performed,  were  nothing  else  but  vain  illusions, 
fancies,  dreams,  and  enchantments,  and  to  be  wrought 
and  compassed  by  the  means  of  a  poor  harmless  wretch, 
that  never  had  heard  of  such  great  matters  in  all  his  life : 
whereas   the  very  fault  was   in  the  negligence   of  the 

32 


Prince's  Council,  Lords,  and  Officers  of  his  State,  that 
had  the  rule  of  the  roast,  and  by  whose  advice  the  Com- 
monwealth was  so  soundly  misgoverned.  To  prove  these 
things  to  be  true,  he  brought  divers  instances  of  great 
absurdities  committed  by  the  greatest:  and  made  such 
allegations  as  could  not  be  denied.  These  were  done  by 
some  that  were  touched  by  the  Attorney  and  Solicitor 
in  their  former  proceedings,  and  they  used  the  prison- 
er's names  for  means  of  quittance  with  them  in  that 
behalf.  But  the  Prince  and  States-men  (being  pinched 
on  both  sides  by  both  parties)  were  not  a  little  offended 
at  the  great  liberty  that  the,y  had  taken  in  censuring 
so  far  of  his  Highness 's  government;  and  thereupon  the 
prisoner  was  freed  and  pardoned,  the  Attorney,  Solicitor, 
Master  of  the  Requests,  and  those  that  were  acquainted 
with  the  draught  of  the  petition,  were  all  of  them  com- 
manded to  the  Tower;  so  the  Lieutenant  took  charge  of 
them.  And  this  was  the  end  of  our  law-sports,  concern- 
ing the  Night  of  Errors. 

When  we  were  wearied  with  mocking  thus  at  our  own 
follies,  at  length  there  was  a  great  consultation  had  for 
the  recovery  of  our  lost  honour.  It  was  then  concluded, 
that  first  the  Prince's  Council  should  be  reformed,  and 
some  graver  conceipts  should  have  their  places,  to  ad- 
vise upon  those  things  that  were  propounded  to  be  done 
.afterward.  Therefore,  upon  better  consideration,  there 
were  divers  plots  and  devices  intended  against  the  Friday 
after  the  New-year's-day,  being  the  3d  of  January;  and, 
to  prevent  all  unruly  tumults,  and  former  inconveniences, 
there  was  provided  a  watch  of  armed  men,  to  ward  at  the 
four  ports ;  and  whifflers  to  make  good  order  under  the 
four  Barons;  and  the  Lord  Warden  to  over-see  them 
all ;  that  none  but  those  that  were  of  good  condition  might 

33 


be  suffered  to  be  let  into  the  Court.     And  the  like  of- 
ficers were  every  where  appointed.  i 

On  the  3d  of  January  at  night,  there  was  a  most 
honourable  presence  of  great  and  noble  personages, 
that  came  as  invited  to  our  Prince ;  as  namely,  the  Eight 
Honourable  the  Lord  Keeper,  the  Earls  of  Shrewsbury, 
Cmnberland,  Northumberland,  Southampton,  and  Es- 
sex; the  Lords  Buckhurst,  Windsor,  Mountjoy,  Sheffield, 
Compton,  Rich,  Burleygh,  Mounteagle,  and  the  Lord 
Thomas  Howard;  Sir  Thomas  Henneage,  Sir  Robert 
Cecill ;  with  a  great  number  of  knights,  ladies,  and  very 
worshipful  personages;  all  which  had  convenient  places, 
and  very  good  entertainment,  to  their  good  liking  and 
contentment. 

When  they  were  all  thus  placed  and  settled  in  very 
good  order,  the  Prince  came  into  the  Hall  with  his  wonted 
state,  and  ascended  his  throne  at  the  high  end  of  the 
Hall,  under  his  Highness 's  arms;  and  after  him  came 
the  Ambassador  of  Templaria,  with  his  train  likewise, 
and  was  placed  by  the  Prince  as  he  was  before ;  his  train 
also  had  places  reserved  for  them,  and  were  provided  for 
them  particularly.  Then,  after  a  variety  of  musick,  they 
were  presented  with  this  device. 

At  the  side  of  the  Hall,  behind  a  curtain,  was  erected 
an  altar  to  the  Goddess  of  Amity ;  her  arch-flamen  ready 
to  attend  the  sacrifice  and  incense  that  should,  by  her 
servants,  be  offered  unto  her :  round  about  the  same  sate 
Nymphs  and  Fairies,  with  instruments  of  musick,  and 
made  very  pleasant  melody  with  viols  and  voices,  and 
sang  hymns  and  prayses  to  her  deity. 

Then  issued  forth  of  another  room  the  first  pair  of 
friends,  which  were  Theseus  and  Perithous ;  they  came  in 
arm  in  arm,  and  offered  incense  upon  the  altar  to  their 

34 


Goddess,  which  shined  and  burned  very  clear,  without 
blemish;  which  being  done  they  departed. 

Then  likewise  came  Achilles  and  Patroclus ;  after  them, 
Pylades  and  Orestes;  then  Scipio  and  Lelius:  and  all 
these  did,  in  all  things,  as  the  former;  and  so  departed. 

Lastly,  were  presented  Grains  and  T cmplarius ;  and 
they  two  came  lovingly,  arm  in  arm,  to  the  altar,  and 
offered  their  incense  as  the  rest,  but  the  Goddess  did  not 
accept  of  their  service;  which  appeared  by  the  troubled 
smoak,  and  dark  vapour,  that  choaked  the  flame,  and 
smothered  the  clear  burning  thereof.  Hereat,  the  arcli- 
flamen,  willing  to  pacifie  the  angry  Goddess,  preferred 
certain  mystical  ceremonies  and  invocations,  and  com- 
manded the  nymphs  to  sing  some  hymns  of  pacification  to 
her  deity,  and  caused  them  to  make  proffer  of  their  devo- 
tion again;  which  they  did,  and  then  the  flame  burnt 
more  clear  than  at  any  time  before,  and  continued  longer 
in  brightness  and  shining  to  them  than  to  anv  of  those 
pairs  of  friends  that  had  gone  before  them;  and  so  they 
departed.  ^  '^ 

Then  the  arch-flamen  did  pronounce  Grayus  and  Tem- 
plarius  to  be  as  true  and  perfect  friends,  and  so  familiarly 
united  and  linked  with  the  bond  and  league  of  sincere 
friendship  and  amity,  as  ever  were  Theseus  and  Peri- 
tlious,  Achilles  and  Patroclus,  Pylades  and  Orestes,  or 
Scipio  and  Laelius;  and  therewithal  did  further  divine, 
that  this  love  should  be  perpetual.  And,  lastly,  de- 
nounced a  heavy  curse  on  them  that  shall  any  way  go 
about  to  break  or  weaken  the  same;  and  an  happiness 
to  them  that  study  and  labour  to  eternize  it  for  ever.  So, 
with  sweet  and  pleasant  melody,  the  curtain  was  drawn 
as  it  was  at  first. 

Thus  was  this  shew  ended,  which  was  devised  to  that 
end,  that  those  that  were  present  might  understand,  that 

35 


the  unkindness  which  was  growing  betwixt  the  Tem- 
plarians  and  us,  by  reason  of  the  former  Night  of  Errors 
and  the  uncivil  behaviour  wherewith  they  were  enter- 
tained, as  before  I  have  partly  touched,  was  now  clean 
rooted  out  and  forgotten,  and  that  we  now  were  more 
firm  friends,  and  kind  lovers,  than  ever  before  we  had 
been,  contrary  to  the  evil  reports  that  some  enviers  of 
our  happiness  had  sown  abroad. 

The  Prince  then  spake  to  the  Ambassador,  that  the 
shew  had  contented  him  exceedingly;  the  rather,  that  it 
appeared  thereby,  that  their  ancient  amity  was  so  fresh 
and  flourishing,  that  no  friendship  in  the  world  hath 
been  compared  to  the  love  and  good-will  of  the  Grayans 
and  Templarians.  And  to  the  end  that  he  might  shew 
that  the  conceipt  was  pleasing  unto  him,  his  Highness 
offered  the  Lord  Ambassador,  and  some  of  his  retinue^ 
with  the  Knighthood  of  the  Helmet,  an  Order  of  his  own 
institution. 

To  that  end  his  Excellency  called  to  him  his  King  at 
Arms,  and  willed  him  to  place  the  Ambassador,  and  some 
of  his  followers,  and  also  some  of  his  own  Court,  that  they 
might  receive  the  dignity  at  his  hands ;  which  being  done, 
and  the  Master  of  the  Jewels  attending  with  the  Collar 
of  the  Order,  the  Prince  came  down  from  his  chair  of 
state,  and  took  a  collar,  and  put  it  about  the  Lord  Am- 
bassador's neck,  he  kneeling  down  on  his  left  knee;  and 
said  to  him,  ''Sois  Chivalor:"  and  so  was  done  to  the 
rest,  to  the  number  of  twenty-four. 

So  the  Prince  and  the  Lord  Ambassador  took  their 
places  again  in  their  chairs,  and  the  rest  according  to 
their  condition. 

Then  Helmet,  his  Highness 's  King  at  Arms,  stood 
before  the  Prince,  in  his  surcoat  of  arms,  and  caused  the 
trumpets  to  sound,  and  made  his  speech ;  as  doth  follow : 

36 


"The  most  mighty  and  puissant  Prince,  Sir  Henry, 
my  gracious  Lord  and  Sovereign  Prince  of  Purpoole, 
Archduke  of  Stapulia  and  Bernardia,  Duke  of  High  and 
Nether  HoVoorn,  Marquis  of  St,  Giles's  and  Tottenham, 
Count  Palatine  of  Bloomshury  and  Clerkenwell,  Great 
Lord  of  the  Cantons  of  Islington,  Kentish  Toivn,  Pad- 
dington,  and  KnighVs-bridge,  hath  heretofore,  for  the 
special  gracing  of  the  nobility  of  his  realm,  and  honour- 
ing the  deserts  of  strangers,  his  favourites,  instituted  a 
most  honourable  Order  of  Knighthood  of  the  Helmet, 
whereof  his  Honour  is  Sovereign,  in  memory  of  the  arms 
he  beareth,  worthily  given  to  one  of  his  noble  ancestors, 
many  years  past,  for  saving  the  life  of  his  then  Sov- 
ereign ;  in  regard  that  as  the  Helmet  def endeth  the  chief- 
est  part  of  the  body,  the  head ;  so  did  he  guard  and  defend 
the  sacred  person  of  the  Prince,  the  head  of  the  state. 
His  Highness  at  this  time  had  made  choice  of  a  number 
of  vertuous  and  noble  personages,  to  admit  them  into 
his  honourable  Society;  whose  good  example  may  be  a 
spur  and  encouragement  to  the  young  nobility  of  his 
dominions,  to  cause  them  to  aspire  to  the  heighth  of  all 
honourable  deserts.  ' 

''To  the  honourable  Order  are  annexed  strict  rules  of 
arms,  and  civil  government,  religiously  to  be  observed 
by  all  those  that  are  admitted  to  this  dignity.  You 
therefore,  most  noble  Gentlemen,  whom  his  Highness  at 
this  time  so  greatly  honoureth  with  his  Eoyal  Order,  you 
must  every  one  of  you  kiss  your  helmet,  and  thereby 
promise  and  vow  to  observe  and  practice,  or  otherwise, 
as  the  case  shall  require,  shun  and  avoid  all  these  con- 
stitutions and  ordinances,  which,  out  of  the  records  of 
my  Office  of  Arms,  I  shall  read  unto  you." 

Then  the  King  at  Arms  took  his  book,  and  turned  to 
the  articles  of  the  orders;  and  read  them,  as  followeth: 

37 


"Imprimis,  Every  Knight  of  this  honourable  Order, 
whether  he  be  a  natural  subject,  or  stranger  born,  shall 
promise  never  to  bear  arms  against  his  Highness 's 
sacred  person,  nor  his  state;  but  to  assist  him  in  all  his 
lawful  wars,  and  maintain  all  his  just  pretences  and 
titles;  especially,  his  Highness 's  title  to  the  land  of  the 
Ama  zons,  d  {sic)  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

"Item,  no  Knight  of  this  Order  shall,  in  point  of 
Jionour,  resort  to  any  grammar-rules  out  of  the  books 
J)e  Diillo,  or  such  like,"  but  shall,  out  of  his  own  brave 
mind,  and  natural  courage,  deliver  himself  from  scorns, 
.as  to  his  own  discretion  shall  seem  convenient, 

"Item,  no  Knight  of  this  Order  shall  be  inquisitive 
towards  any  lady  or  gentlewoman,  whether  her  beauty  be 
English  or  Italian,  or  whether,  with  care-taking,  she  have 
added  half  a  foot  to  her  stature ;  but  shall  take  all  to  the 
best.  Neither  shall  any  Knight  of  the  aforesaid  Order 
presume  to  affirm,  that  faces  were  better  twenty  years 
ago  than  they  are  at  this  present  time,  except  such 
Knights  have  passed  three  climacterical  years. 

"Item,  everie  Knight  of  this  Order  is  bound  to  perform 
all  requisite  and  manly  service,  be  it  night-service,  or 
otherwise,  as  the  case  requireth,  to  all  ladies  and  gen- 
tlewomen, beautiful  by  nature  or  by  art ;  ever  offering  his 
aid,  without  any  demand  thereof ;  and  if  in  case  he  fail  to 
so  do,  he  shall  be  deemed  a  match  of  disparagement  to 
any  his  Highness 's  widows,  or  wards-female;  and  his  Ex- 
cellency shall  in  justice  forbear  to  make  any  tender  of 
him  to  any  such  ward  or  widow. 

"Item,  no  Knight  of  this  Order  shall  procure  any  let- 
ters from  his  Highness  to  any  widow  or  maid,  for  his 
enablement  and  commendation  to  be  advanced  to  mar- 
riage ;  but  all  prerogative,  wooing  set  apart,  shall  for  ever 
cease,  as  to  any  of  these  Knights,  and  shall  be  left  to  the 

38 


common  laws  of  this  land,  aeelared  Ijy  the  statute,  Quia 
Electiones  liberae  esse  dehent. 

''Item,  no  Knight  of  this  honorable  Order,  in  case  he 
shall  grow  into  decay,  shall  procure  from  his  Highness 
relief  and  sustentation,  any  monopolies  or  privileges,  ex- 
cept only  these  kinds  following:  that  is  to  say,  Upon 
every  tobacco-pipe,  not  being  one  foot  wide ;  upon  every 
lock  that  is  worn,  not  being  seven  feet  long ;  upon  every 
health  that  is  drunk,  not  being  of  a  glass  five  foot  deep ; 
and  upon  every  maid  in  his  Highness 's  province  of 
Islington,  continuing  a  virgin  after  the  age  of  fourteen 
years,  contrary  to  the  use  and  custom  in  that  place  always 
had  and  observed. 

''Item,  no  Knight  of  this  Order  shall  have  any  more 
than  one  mistress,  for  whose  sake  he  shall  be  allowed  to 
wear  three  colours :  but,  if  he  will  have  two  mistresses, 
then  must  he  wear  six  colours ;  and  so  forward,  after  the 
rate  of  three  colours  to  a  mistress. 

"Item,  no  Knight  of  this  Order  shall  put  out  any 
money  upon  strange  returns  or  performances  to  be  made 
by  his  own  person ;  as,  to  hop  up  the  stairs  to  the  top  of 
St.  Paul's,  without  intermission;  or  any  other  such  like 
agilities  or  endurances,  except  it  may  appear  that  the 
same  performances  or  practices  do  enable  him  to  some 
service  or  employment;  as,  if  he  do  undertake  to  go  a 
journey  backward,  the  same  shall  be  thought  to  enable 
him  to  be  an  Ambassador  into  Turkey. 

"Item,  no  Knight  of  this  Order,  that  hath  had  any 
licence  to  travel  into  foreign  countries,  be  it  by  map, 
card,  sea.  or  land,  and  hath  returned  from  thence,  shall 
presume  upon  the  warrant  of  a  traveller,  to  report  any 
extraordinary  varieties ;  as,  that  he  hath  ridden  through 
Venice  on  horse-back  post;  or  that  in  December  he  sailed 
by  the  Cape  of  Norway;  or  that  he  hath  travelled  over 

39 


the  most  part  of  the  countries  of  Geneva;  or  such  like^ 
hyperbolies,  contrary  to  the  statute,  Propterea  quod  qui 
diversos  terrarurn  ambitus  errent  d  vagantur,  dc. 

"Item,  every  Knight  of  this  Order  shall  do  his  en- 
deavour to  be  much  in  the  books  of  the  worshipful  citi- 
zens of  the  principal  city,  next  adjoining  to  the  terri- 
tories of  Purpoole;  and  none  shall  unlearnedly,  or  with- 
out looking,  pay  ready  money  for  any  wares,  or  other 
things  pertaining  to  the  gallantness  of  his  Honour's 
Court;  to  the  ill  example  of  others,  and  utter  subversion 
of  credit  betwixt  man  and  man. 

"Item,  every  Knight  of  this  Order  shall  apply  himself 
to  some  or  other  vertuous  quality  or  ability  of  learning, 
honour,  and  arms ;  and  shall  not  think  it  sufficient  to  come 
into  his  Honour's  Presence-Chamber  in  good  apparel 
only,  or  to  be  able  to  keep  company  at  play  and  gaming ;. 
for  such  it  is  already  determined,  that  they  be  put  and 
taken  for  implements  of  household,  and  are  placed  in  his^ 
Honour's  Inventory. 

"Item,  every  Knight  of  this  Order  shall  endeavour  ta 
add  conference  and  exrience  (sic)  by  reading;  and 
therefore  shall  not  only  read  and  peruse  Guizo,  the  French 
Academy,  Galiatto  the  Courtier,  Plutarch,  the  Arcadia,, 
and  the  Neoterical  Writers,  from  time  to  time;  but  also 
frequent  the  Theatre,  and  such  like  places  of  experience  •,. 
and  resort  to  the  better  sort  of  ordinaries  for  conference ;. 
whereby  they  may  not  only  become  accomplished  with 
civil  conversations,  and  able  to  govern  a  table  with  dis- 
course ;  but  also  sufficient,  if  need  be,  to  make  epigrams,, 
emblems,  and  other  devices,  appertaining  to  his  Honour's 
learned  revels. 

"Item,  no  Knight  of  this  Order  shall  give  out  what 
gracious  words  the  Prince  hath  given  him,  nor  leave  word 
at  his  chamber,  in  case  any  come  to  speak  with  him,  that. 

40 


he  is  above  with  his  Excellency:  nor  cause  his  man,  when- 
he  shall  be  in  any  public  assembly,  to  call  him  suddenly 
to  go  to  the  Prince,  nor  cause  any  packet  of  letters  to  be 
brought  at  dinner  or  supper  time,  nor  say  that  he  had  the 
refusal  of  some  great  office,  nor  satisfy  suitors,  to  say, 
his  Honour  is  not  in  any  good  disposition,  nor  make  any 
narrow  observation  of  his  Excellencv's  nature  and  fash- 
ions,  as  if  he  were  inward  privately  with  his  Honour; 
contrary  to  the  late  inhibition  of  selling  of  smoak. 

"Item,  no  Knight  of  this  Order  shall  be  armed,  for 
the  safeguard  of  his  countenance,  with  a  pipe  in  his 
mouth,  in  the  nature  of  a  tooth-picker,  or  with  any~ 
weapon  in  his  hand,  be  it  stick,  plume,  wand,  or  any  such 
like ;  neither  shall  he  draw  out  of  his  pocket  any  book  or 
paper,  to  read  for  the  same  intent ;  neither  shall  he  retain 
any  extraordinary  shrug,  nod,  or  other  familiar  motion  or 
gesture,  to  the  same  end ;  for  his  Highness,  of  his  gracious 
clemency,  is  disposed  to  lend  his  countenance  to  all  such- 
Knights  as  are  out  of  countenance. 

"Item,  no  Knight  of  this  Order,  that  weareth  fustian, 
cloth,  or  such  statute-apparel,  for  necessity,  shall  pretend 
to  wear  the  same  for  the  new  fashion's  sake. 

'  *  Item,  no  Knight  of  this  Order,  in  walking  the  streets,. 
or  other  places  of  resort,  shall  bear  his  hands  in  his 
pockets  of  his  great  rolled  hose,  with  the  Spanish  wheel, 
if  it  be  not  either  to  defend  his  hands  from  the  cold,  or 
else  to  guard  forty  shillings  sterling,  being  in  the  same- 
pockets. 

"Item,  no  Knight  of  this  Order  shall  lay  to  pawn  his 
Collar  of  Knighthood  for  an  hundred  pounds ;  and,  if  he- 
do,  she  shall  be,  ipso  facto,  discharged;  and  it  shall  be- 
lawful  for  any  man  whatsoever,  that  will  retain  the  same 
Collar  for  the  sum  aforesaid,  forthwith  to  take  upon  him- 
the  said  Knighthood,  by  reason  of  a  secret  vertue  in  the- 

41 


Collar ;  for  in  this  Order,  it  is  holden  for  a  certain  rule, 
that  the  Knighthood  followeth  the  Collar,  and  not  the 
Collar  the  Knighthood. 

"Item,  that  no  Knight  of  this  Order  shall  take  upon 
him  the  person  of  a  male-content,  in  going  with  a  more 
private  retinue  than  appertaineth  to  his  degree,  and 
using  but  special  obscure  company,  and  commending 
none  but  men  disgraced,  and  out  of  office ;  and  smiling  at 
good  news,  as  if  he  knew  something  that  were  not  true; 
and  making  odd  notes  of  his  Highness 's  reign,  and  for- 
mer governments;  or  saying,  that  his  Highness 's  sports 
were  well  sorted  with  a  Play  of  Errors;  and  such  like 
pretty  speeches  of  jest,  to  the  end  that  he  may  more  safely 
utter  his  malice  against  his  Excellency's  happiness;  upon 
pain  to  be  present  at  all  his  Excellency's  most  glorious 
Triumphs. 

"Lastly,  all  the  Knights  of  this  honourable  Order,  and 
the  renowned  Sovereign  of  the  same,  shall  yield  all  hom- 
age, loyalty,  unaffected  admiration,  and  all  humble  serv- 
ice, of  what  name  or  condition  soever,  to  the  incompar- 
able Empress  of  the  Fortunate  Island." 

When  the  King  at  Arms  had  read  all  these  articles 
of  the  Order  of  the  Knighthood,  and  finished  the  cere- 
monies belonging  to  the  same,  and  that  every  one  had 
taken  their  places  as  before,  there  was  a  variety  of  con- 
sort-musick;  and  in  the  mean  while,  the  Knights  of  the 
Order  which  were  not  strangers  brought  into  the  hall  a 
running  banquet,  in  very  good  order,  and  gave  it  to  the 
Prince,  and  Lords,  and  other  Strangers,  in  imitation  of 
the  feast  that  belongeth  to  all  such  honourable  institu- 
tions. 

This  being  done,  there  was  a  table  set  in  the  midst  of 
the  stage,  before  the  Prince's  seat;  and  there  sat  six  of 
the  Lords  of  his  Privy  Council,  which  at  that  time  were 

42 


appointed  to  attend,  in  council,  the  Prince's  leisure.  Then 
the  Prince  spake  to  them  in  this  manner: 

''My  Lords, 
■  ''We  have  made  choice  of  you,  as  our  most  faithful 
and  favoured  Counsellors,  to  advise  with  you,  not  any 
particular  action  of  our  State,  but  in  general,  of  the  scope 
and  end  whereunto  you  think  it  most  for  our  honour,  and 
the  happiness  of  our  State,  that  our  government  be 
rightly  bent  and  directed ;  for  we  mean  not  to  do  as  many 
Princes  use;  which  conclude  of  their  ends  out  of  their 
own  honours,  and  take  counsel  only  of  the  means  (abus- 
ing, for  the  most  part,  the  wisdom  of  their  Counsellors) 
set  them  the  right  way  to  the  w^rong  place.  But  we,  desir- 
ous to  leave  as  little  to  chance  or  humour  as  may  be,  do 
now  give  you  liberty  and  warrant  to  set  before  us,  to 
what  port,  as  it  were,  the  ship  of  our  government  should 
be  bounden.  And  this  we  require  you  to  do,  without 
either  respect  to  our  affections,  or  your  own;  neither 
guessing  what  is  most  agreeable  with  our  disposition, 
wherein  we  may  easily  deceive  you;  for  Princes'  hearts 
are  inscrutable:  nor,  on  the  other  side,  putting  the  case 
by  yourselves,  as  if  you  would  present  us  with  a  robe, 
whereof  measure  were  taken  by  yourselves.  Thus  you 
perceive  our  mind,  and  we  expect  your  answer." 

The  First  Counsellor  advisin-g  the  Exercise  of  War. 
"Most  Excellent  Prince, 

"Except  there  be  sucli  amongst  us,  as  I  am  fully  per- 
suaded there  is  none,  that  regardeth  more  his  own  great- 
ness under  you,  than  your  great  (sic)  over  others,  I  think 
there  will  be  little  difference  in  the  chusing  for  you  a  goal 
worthy  your  vertue  and  power.  For  he  that  shall  set 
before  him  your  magnanimity  and  valour,  supported  by 
the  youth  and  disposition  of  your  body;  your  flourishing 

43 


■Court,  like  the  horse  of  Troy,  full  of  brave  commanders 
and  leaders ;  your  populous  and  man-rife  provinces,  over- 
flowing with  warlike  people ;  your  coffers,  like  the  Indian 
mines  when  that  they  are  first  opened;  your  store-houses 
are  as  sea-walls,  like  to  Vulcan's  cave ;  your  navy  like  to  an 
huge  floating  city;  the  devotion  of  your  subjects  to  your 
crown  and  person,  their  good  agreement  amongst  them- 
selves, their  wealth  and  provision :  and  then  your  strength 
and  unrevocable  confederation  with  the  noble  and  honour- 
able personages,  and  the  fame  and  reputation  without  of 
so  rare  a  concurrence,  whereof  all  the  former  regards  do 
grow:  how  can  he  think  any  exercise  worthy  of  your 
means,  but  that  of  conquest?  for,  in  few  words,  what  is 
your  strength,  if  you  find  it  not?  Your  fortune,  if  you 
try  it  not?  Your  vertue,  if  you  show  it  not?  Think,  ex- 
cellent Prince,  what  sense  of  content  you  found  in  your- 
self when  you  were  first  invested  in  our  state :  for  though 
I  know  your  Excellency  is  far  from  vanity  and  lightness, 
yet  it  is  the  nature  of  all  things  to  find  rest  when  they 
come  to  due  and  proper  places.  But  be  assured  of  this, 
that  this  delight  will  languish  and  vanish;  for  power  will 
quench  appetite,  and  satiety  will  endure  tediousness.  But 
if  you  embrace  the  wars,  your  trophies  and  triumphs  will 
be  as  continual  coronations  that  will  not  suffer  your 
glory  and  contentment  to  fade  and  wither.  Then,  when 
you  have  enlarged  your  territories,  ennobled  your  coun- 
try, distributed  fortunes,  good  or  bad,  at  your  pleasure, 
not  only  to  particulars,  but  to  cities  and  nations ;  marked 
the  computations  of  time  with  your  expeditions  and 
voyages,  and  the  memory  of  places  by  your  exploits  and 
victories,  in  your  later  years  you  shall  find  a  sweet  respect 
into  the  adventures  of  your  youth,  you  shall  enjoy  your 
reputation,  you  shall  record  your  travels,  and  after  your 
own  time  you  shall  eternize  your  name,  and  leave  deep 

44 


foot-steps  of  your  powei'  in  the  world.  To  conclude,  ex- 
•cellent  Prince,  and  most  worthy  to  have  the  titles  of  vic- 
tories added  to  your  high  and  deserved  titles:  remem- 
ber, the  Divines  find  nothing  more  glorious  to  resemble 
■our  state  unto  than  warfare.  All  things  in  earnest  and 
jest  do  affect  a  kind  of  victory,  and  all  other  victories 
4xre  but  shadows  to  the  victories  of  the  wars.  Therefore 
■embrace  the  wars,  for  they  disparage  you  not;  and  be- 
lieve, that  if  any  Prince  do  otherwise,  it  is  either  in  the 
weakness  of  his  mind  or  means." 

The  Second  Counsellor,  advising  the  Study  of  Phi- 
losophy. 

''It  may  seem.  Most  Excellent  Prince,  that  my  Lord, 
which  now  hath  spoken,  did  never  read  the  just  censures 
of  the  wisest  men,  who  compared  great  conquerors  to 
great  rovers  and  witches,  whose  power  is  in  destruction, 
and  not  in  preservation;  else  would  he  never  have  ad- 
vised your  Excellency  to  become  as  some  comet,  or  blaz- 
ing-star, which  would  threaten  and  portend  nothing  but 
death  and  dearth,  combustions  and  troubles  of  the  world. 
And  whereas  the  governing  faculties  of  men  are  two, 
force  and  reason ;  whereof  the  one  is  brute,  and  the  other 
divine,  he  wisheth  you  for  your  principal  ornament  and 
regality,  the  talons  of  the  eagle  to  catch  the  prey,  and 
not  the  piercing  sight  which  seeth  into  the  bottom  of  the 
sea:  but  T,  contrarywise,  v/ill  wish  unto  your  Highness 
the  exercise  of  the  best  and  purest  part  of  the  mind,  and 
the  most  innocent  and  meriting  request,  being  the  con- 
quest of  the  works  of  nature ;  making  his  proportion,  that 
yon  bend  the  excellency  of  your  spirits  to  the  searching 
out,  inventing,  and  discovering  of  all  whatsoever  is  hid  in 
secret  in  the  world,  that  your  Excellency  be  not  as  a 
lamp  that  shineth  to  others,  and  yet  seeth  not  itself ;  but 

4.5 


as  the  eye  of  the  world,  that  both  carrieth  and  useth  light. 
Antiquity,  that  presenteth  nnto  us  in  dark  visions  the 
wisdom  of  former  times,  informeth  us,  that  the  kingdoms 
have  always  had  an  affinity  with  the  secrets  and  mys- 
teries of  learning.  Amongst  the  Persians,  the  Kings  were 
attended  on  by  the  Magi ;  the  Gymnasophists  had  all  the 
government  under  the  Princes  of  Asia ;  and  generally 
those  kingdoms  were  accounted  most  happy,  that  had 
rulers  most  addicted  to  philosophy:  the  Ptolemies  of 
Egypt  may  be  for  instance ;  and  Solyman  was  a  man  so 
seen  in  the  universality  of  nature,  that  he  wrote  an  herbal 
of  all  that  was  green  upon  the  earth.  No  conquest  of 
Julius  Caesar  made  him  so  remembered  as  the  Calendar. 
Alexander  the  Great  wrote  to  Aristotle  upon  the  pub- 
lishing of  the  Physicks,  that  he  esteemed  more  of  excel- 
lent men  in  knowledge,  than  in  empire.  And  to  this  pur- 
pose I  will  commend  to  your  Highness  four  principal 
works  and  monuments  of  yourself:  First,  the  collecting- 
of  a  most  perfect  and  general  library,  wherein  whatso- 
ever the  wit  of  man  hath  heretofore  committed  to  books 
of  worth,  be  they  ancient  or  modern,  printed  or  manu- 
script, European  or  of  the  other  parts,  of  one  or  other 
language,  may  be  made  contributary  to  your  wisdom. 
Next,  a  spacious,  wonderful  garden,  wherein  whatsoever 
plant,  the  sun  of  divers  climates,  out  of  the  earth  of  divers, 
moulds,  either  wild,  or  by  the  culture  of  man,  brought 
forth,  may  be,  with  that  care  that  appertaineth  to  the 
good  prospering  thereof,  set  and  cherished.  This  garden 
to  be  built  about  with  rooms,  to  stable  in  all  rare  beasts, 
and  to  cage  in  all  rare  birds;  with  two  lakes  adjoining^ 
the  one  of  fresh  water,  and  the  other  of  salt,  for  like  va- 
riety of  fishes :  and  so  you  may  have,  in  a  small  compass, 
a  model  of  universal  nature  made  private.  The  third  a 
goodly  huge  cabinet,  wherein  whatsoever  the  hand  of 

46 


man,  by  exquisite  art  or  engine,  liatli  made  rare  in  stuff, 
form,  or  motion,  whatsoever  singularity,  chance,  and  the 
shuffle  of  things  hath  produced,  whatsoever  nature  hath 
wrought  in  things  that  want  life,  and  may  be  kept,  shall 
be  sorted  and  included.  The  fourth,  such  a  Still-house 
so  furnished  with  mills,  instruments,  furnaces,  and  ves- 
sels, as  may  be  a  Palace  lit  for  a  philosopher's  stone. 
Thus  when  your  Excellency  shall  have  added  depth  of 
knowledge  to  the  fineness  of  spirits,  and  greatness  of 
your  power,  then  indeed  shall  you  lay  a  Trismegistus ; 
and  then,  when  all  other  miracles  and  wonders  shall  cease, 
by  reason  that  you  shall  have  discovered  their  natural 
causes,  yourself  shall  be  left  the  only  miracle  and  wonder 
of  the  world." 

The  Third  Counsellor,  advising  Eternizement  and  Fame, 
by  Buildings  and   Foundations. 

"My  Lords  that  have  already  spoken,  most  excellent 
Prince,  have  both  used  one  fallacy,  in  taking  that  for  cer- 
tain and  granted,  which  was  most  uncertain  and  doubt- 
ful: for  the  one  hath  neither  drawn  in  question  the  suc- 
cess and  fortune  of  the  wars;  nor  the  other,  the  difficul- 
ties and  errors  in  the  conclusions  of  nature:  but  these 
immoderate  hopes  and  promises  do  many  times  issue 
from  those  of  the  wars,  into  tragedies  of  calamities  and 
distresses;  and  those  of  mystical  philosophy,  into  come- 
dies of  ridiculous  frustrations  and  disappointments  of 
such  conceipts  and  curiosities:  but,  on  the  other  side,  in 
one  point  my  Lords  have  well  agreed,  that  they  botli^ 
according  to  their  several  intentions,  counselled  your 
Excellency  to  win  fame,  and  to  eternize  your  name; 
though  the  one  adviseth  it  in  a  course  of  great  peril,  and 
the  other,  of  little  dignity  and  magnificence.  But  the 
plain  and  approved  way  that  is  safe,  and  yet  proportion- 

47 


able  to  the  greatness  of  a  Monarch,  to  present  himself  to 
posterity,  is  not  rumour  and  hear-say;  but  the  usual 
memory  of  himself,  is  the  magnificence  of  goodly  and 
Uoyal  buildings  and  foundations,  and  the  new  institutions 
of  orders,  ordinances,  and  societies :  that  is,  that  your 
coin  be  stamped  with  your  own  image;  so  in  every  part 
of  your  State  there  may  be  somewhat  new;  which  by 
'Continuance  may  make  the  founder  and  author  remem- 
bered. It  was  perceived  at  the  first,  when  men  sought  to 
cure  mortality  by  fame,  that  buildings  was  the  only  way ; 
and  thereof  proceeded  the  known  holy  antiquity  of  build- 
ing the  Tower  of  Babel;  which,  as  it  was  a  sin  in  the 
immoderate  appetite  of  fame,  so  was  it  punished  in  the 
kind;  for  the  diversities  of  languages  have  imprisoned 
fame  ever  since.  As  for  the  pyramids,  the  colosses,  the 
number  of  temples,  colleges,  bridges,  aqueducts,  castles, 
theatres,  palaces,  and  the  like,  they  may  shew  us,  that 
men  ever  mistrusted  any  other  way  to  fame  than  this 
only,  of  works  and  monuments.  Yea,  even  they  which 
had  the  best  choice  of  other  means.  Alexander  did  not 
think  his  fame  so  engraven  in  his  conquests,  but  that  he 
thought  it  further  shined  in  the  buildings  of  Alexandria. 
Augustus  Caesar  thought  no  man  had  done  greater  things 
in  military  actions  than  himself;  yet  that  which,  at  his 
death,  ran  most  in  his  mind,  was  his  buildings;  when  he 
said,  not  as  some  mistake  it,  metaphorically,  but  literally, 
*I  found  the  City  of  brick,  but  I  leave  it  of  marble.' 
Constantine  the  Great  was  wont  to  call  with  envy  the 
Emperor  Trajan  'Wall-flower,'  because  his  name  was 
upon  so  many  buildings ;  which,  notwithstanding,  he  him- 
self did  embrace  in  the  new  founding  of  Constantinople, 
and  sundry  other  buildings :  and  yet  none  greater  con- 
querors than  these  two.  And  surely  they  had  reason; 
for  the  fame  of  great  actions  is  like  to  a  land-flood,  which 

48 


hath  no  certain  liead  or  spring,  l)ut  the  memory  and  fauie 
of  bnildings  and  foundations  liath,  as  it  were,  a  fountain 
in  an  liill,  which  continually  feedeth  and  refresheth  the 
other  waters.  Neither  do  I,  excellent  Prince,  restrain 
my  Speeches  to  dead  buildings  only,  but  intend  it  also  to 
other  foundations,  institutions,  and  creations ;  wherein 
1  presume  the  more  to  speak  confidently,  because  I  am 
warranted  herein  by  your  own  wisdom,  who  have  made 
the  first  fruits  of  your  actions  of  state,  to  institute  the 
honourable  Order  of  the  Helmet;  the  less  shall  I  need  to 
say,  leaving  your  Excellency  not  so  much  to  follow  my 
advice,  as  your  own  example." 

Tne  Fourth  Councellor,  advising  Absoluteness  of  State 

and  Treasure. 

"Let  it  not  seem  pusillanimity  for  your  Excellency, 
mighty  Prince,  to  descend  a  little  from  your  high 
thoughts  to  a  necessary  consideration  of  your  own  estate. 
Neither  do  you  deny,  Honourable  Lords,  to  acknowledge 
safety,  profit,  and  power,  to  be  of  the  substance  of  policy, 
and  fame  and  honour  rather  to  be  as  flowers  of  well- 
ordered  actions,  than  as  good  guides.  Now  if  you  ex- 
amine the  courses  propounded  according  to  these  re- 
spects, it  must  be  confessed,  that  the  course  of  wars  may 
seem  to  increase  power,  and  the  course  of  contemplations 
and  foundations  not  prejudice  safety;  but  if  you  look 
Tjeyond  the  exterior,  you  shall  find  that  the  first  breeds 
weakness,  and  the  latter  note  peril :  for  certain  it  is,  dur- 
ing wars,  your  Excellency  will  be  enforced  to  your  soul- 
diers,  and  generally  to  your  people,  and  become  less  abso- 
lute and  monarchical  than  if  you  reigned  in  peace;  and 
then  if  your  success  be  good,  that  you  make  new  con- 
quests, you  shall  be  constrained  to  spend  the  strength  of 
your  ancient  and  settled  provinces,  to  assure  you  new  and 

49 


doubtful,  and  become  like  a  strong  man,  that,  by  taking 
a  ■  great,  burden  upon  his  shoulders,  maketh  himself 
weaker  than  he  was  before.  Again,  if  you  think  you 
jnay  not  end  contemplations  with  security,  your  Excel- 
lency will  be  deceived;  for  such  studies  will  make  you 
retired  and  disused  with  your  business;  whence  will 
follow  admiration  of  your  authority;  as  for  the  other 
point,  of  exercising  in  every  part  of  your  state  something- 
new,  derived  from  yourself,  it  will  acquaint  your  Excel- 
lency with  an  humor  of  innovation  and  alteration;  which 
will  make  your  Reign  very  turbulent  and  unsettled,  and 
many  times  your  change  will  be  for  worse ;  as  in  the  ex- 
ample last  touched,  of  Constantine,  who,  by  his  new  trans- 
lation of  his  estate,  ruinated  the  Eoman  Empire.  As  for 
profit,  there  appeareth  a  direct  contrariety  betwixt  that 
and  all  the  three  courses ;  for  nothing  causeth  such  dissi- 
pation of  treasure  as  wars,  curiosities,  and  buildings ;  and 
for  all  this  to  be  recompensed  in  a  supposed  honour,  a 
matter  apt  to  be  much  extolled  in  words,  but  not  greatly 
to  be  praised  in  conceit,  I  do  think  it  a  loser's  bargain. 
Besides  that,  many  politic  Princes  have  received  as  much 
commendation  for  their  wise  and  well  ordered  govern- 
ment, as  others  have  done  for  their  conquests  and  glor- 
ious affections.  And  more  worthy,  because  the  praise  of 
wisdom  and  judgment  is  less  communicated  with  fortune. 
Therefore,  excellent  Prince,  be  not  transported  with 
shews ;  follow  the  order  of  nature,  first  to  make  the  most 
of  that  you  possess,  before  you  seek  to  purchase  more. 
To  put  the  case  by  a  private  man  (for  I  cannot  speak 
high),  if  a  man  were  born  to  an  hundred  pounds  by  the 
year,  and  one  shew  him  how  with  charge  to  purchase  an 
hundred  pounds  more,  and  another  should  shew  him  how 
without  charge  to  raise  that  hundred  pounds  unto  five 
hundred  pounds,  I  should  think  the  latter  advice  should 

50 


be  followed.  The  proverb  is  a  coimtrey  proverb,  but  sig- 
nificative, 'Milk  the  cow  that  standeth  still;  why  follow 
you  her  that  flieth  away?'  Do  not  think,  excellent  Prince, 
that  all  the  conquests  you  are  to  make  be  foreign;  you 
are  to  conquer  here  at  home  the  overgrowing  of  your 
grandees  in  factions,  and  too  great  liberties  of  your  peo- 
ple, the  great  reverence  and  formalities  given  to  your 
laws  and  customs,  in  derogation  of  your  absolute  preroga- 
tives; these  and  such  like  be  conquests  of  state,  though 
not  of  war.  You  want  a  Joseph,  that  should  by  advice 
make  you  the  only  proprietor  of  all  the  lands  and  wealth 
of  your  subjects.  The  means  how  to  strain  up  your  sov- 
ereignty, and  how  to  accumulate  treasure  and  revenue, 
they  are  the  secrets  of  your  State :  I  will  not  enter  into 
them  at  this  place;  I  wish  your  Excellency  as  ready  to 
them,  as  I  know  the  means  ready  to  perform  them. ' ' 

The  Fifth  Councellor,  advising  him  Vertue,  and  a  Grace- 

ious  Government. 

"Most  Excellent  Prince, 
"I  have  heard  sundry  plats  and  propositions  offered 
unto  you  severally:  one,  to  make  you  a  great  Prince; 
another,  to  make  you  a  strong  Prince;  and  another  to 
make  you  a  memorable  Prince;  and  a  fourth,  to  make 
you  an  absolute  Prince ;  but  I  hear  of  no  mention  to  make 
you  a  good  and  virtuous  Prince;  which  surely  my  Lords 
have  left  out  in  discretion,  as  to  arise  of  your  own  motion 
and  choice;  and  so  I  should  have  thought,  had  they  not 
handled  their  own  projDOsitions  so  artificially  and  per- 
swadingly,  as  doth  assure  me  their  Speech  was  not  for- 
mal. But,  most  worthy  Prince,  fame  is  too  light,  and 
profit  and  surety  are  too  low,  and  power  is  either  such  as 
you  have,  or  ought  not  so  to  seek  to  have ;  it  is  the  merit- 
ing of  your  subjects,  the  making  of  golden  times,  the  be- 

51 


coming  of  a  natural  parent  to  your  State :  these  are  the 
only  and  worthy  ends  of  your  Grace's  virtuous  Reign. 
My  Lords  have  taught  you  to  refer  all  things  to  yourself, 
your  greatness,  memory,  and  advantage;  but  whereunto 
shall  yourself  be  referred?  If  vou  will  be  heavenlv,  vou 
must  have  influence;  will  you  be  as  a  standing  pool,  that 
speudeth  and  clioaketh  his  spring  within  itself,  and  hath 
no  streams  nor  current  to  bless  and  make  fruitful  whole 
tracts  of  countreys,  whereby  it  reneweth?  Wherefore, 
first  of  all,  most  virtuous  Prince,  assure  yourself  of  an 
inward  Peace,  that  the  storms  without  do  not  disturb  any_ 
of  5^our  repairers  of  State  within ;  therein  use  and  prac- 
tise all  honourable  diversions ;  that  done,  visit  all  the  parts 
of  your  State,  and  let  the  balm  distil  every  where  from 
your  -Sovereign  hands,  to  the  medicining  of  any  part  that 
complaineth,  beginning  with  your  seat  of  State,  take  order 
that  the  fault  of  your  greatness  do  not  rebound  upon  your- 
self;  have  care  that  your  intelligence,  which  is  the  light 
of  your  State,  do  not  go  out,  or  burn  dim  or  obscure ;  ad- 
v-ance  men  of  virtue,  and  not  of  mercenary  minds;  re- 
press all  faction,  be  it  either  malign  or  violent.  Then 
look  into  the  state  of  your  laws,  and  justice  of  your  land ; 
purge  out  multiplicity  of  laws,  clear  the  incertainty  of 
them,  repeal  those  that  are  snaring,  and  prize  the  execu- 
tion of  those  that  are  wholesome  and  necessary;  define 
the  jurisdiction  of  your  Courts,  reprize  all  suits  and  vex- 
ations, all  causeless  delays  and  fraudulent  shifts  and  de- 
vices,^ and  reform  all  such  abuses  of  right  and  justice, 
assist  the  jninisters  thereof,  punish  severely  all  extortions 
and  exactions  of  officers,  all  corruptions  in  trials  and  sen- 
tences of  judgment.  Yet,  when  you  have  done  all  this, 
think  not  that  the  bridle  and  spur  will  make  the  horse 
to  go  alone  without  time  and  custom.  Trust  not  to  your 
laws  for  correcting  the  times,  but  give  all  strength  to 

52 


good  education;  see  to  the  government  of  your  Universi- 
ties, and  all  seminaries  of  yontli,  and  of  the  private  order 
of  families,  maintaining  due  obedience  of  children 
towards  their  parents,  and  reverence  of  the  younger  sort 
towards  the  ancient.  Then  when  you  have  confirmed  the 
noble  and  vital  parts  of  your  realm  of  State,  proceed  to 
take  care  of  the  blood  and  flesh,  and  good  habit  of  the 
body.  Remedy  all  decays  of  population,  make  provision 
for  the  poor,  remove  all  stops  in  traffick,  and  all  cancers 
and  causes  of  consumption  in  trades  and  mysteries;  re- 
dross  all  but  whither  do  I  run,  exceeding  the  bounds  of 
that  perhaps  I  am  now  demanded!  But  pardon  me,  most 
excellent  Prince,  for  as  if  I  should  commend  unto  your 
Excellency  the  beauty  of  some  excellent  Lady,  I  could  not 
so  well  express  it  with  relation,  as  if  I  shewed  you  her 
picture ;  so  I  esteem  the  best  way  to  commend  a  virtuous 
government,  to  describe  and  make  appear  what  it  is ;  but 
my  pencil  perhaps  disgraceth  it:  therefore  I  leave  it  to 
your  Excellency,  to  take  the  picture  out  of  your  wise  ob- 
servation, and  then  to  double  it,  and  express  it  in  your 
government. "  i 

The  Sixth  Councellor,  regarding  Pass-times  and  Sports. 
"When  I  heard,  most  excellent  Prince,  the  three  first 

of  my  Lords  so  careful  to  continue  your  fame  and  mem- 
ory, methought  it  was  as  if  "a  man  should  come  to  some 
young  Prince,  as  yourself  is;  and  immediately  after  his^ 
coronation,  be  in  hand  with  him  to  make  himself  a  sump- 
tuous and  stately  tomb.  And,  to  speak  out  of  my  soul, 
I  muse  how  any  of  your  servants  can  once  endure  tc^ 
think  of  jow  as  of  a  Prince  past.  And  for  my  other 
Lords,  who  would  engage  you  so  deeply  in  matters  of 
State;  the  one  perswading  you  to  a  more  absolute,  the 
other  to  a  more  gracious  Government ;  I  assure  your  Ex- 

53 


cellency,  their  lessons  were  so  cumbersome,  as  if  tliey 
would  make  you  a  King  in  a  Play;  who  when  one  would 
think  he  standeth  in  great  majesty  and  felicity,  he  is 
troubled  to  say  his  part.  What!  nothing  but  tasks'? 
nothing  but  working-days?  No  feasting,  no  music,  no 
dancing,  no  triumphs,  no  comedies,  no  love,  no  ladies? 
Let  other  men's  lives  be  as  pilgrimages,  because  they 
are  tied  to  divers  necessities  and  duties;  but  Princes' 
lives  are  as  Progresses,  dedicated  only  to  variety  and 
solace.  And  if  your  Excellency  should  take  your  barge 
in  a  summer  evening,  or  your  horse  or  chariot,  to  take 
the  air ;  and  if  you  should  do  any  the  honour  to  visit  him ; 
yet  your  pleasure  is  the  principal,  and  that  is  but  as  it 
falleth  out.  So  if  any  of  these  matters  which  have  been 
spoken  of,  fall  out  in  the  way  of  your  pleasure,  it  may  be 
taken ;  but  no  otherwise.  And  therefore,  leave  your  wars 
to  your  Lieutenants,  and  your  works  and  buildings  to 
your  Surveyors,  and  your  books  to  your  Universities,  and 
your  State-matters  to  your  Counsellors,  and  attend  you 
that  in  person  which  you  cannot  execute  by  deputy:  use 
the  advantage  of  your  youth,  be  not  sullen  to  your  for- 
tune ;  make  your  pleasure  the  distinction  of  your  honours, 
the  studies  of  your  favourites,  the  talk  of  your  people, 
and  the  allurement  of  all  foreign  gallants  to  your  Court. 
And,  in  a  word,  sweet  Sovereign,  dismiss  your  five  Coun- 
sellors, and  only  take  Council  of  your  five  senses." 

"But  if  a  man  should  follow  your  five  senses  (said  the 
Prince)  I  perceive  he  might  follow  your  Lordship,  now 
and  then,  into  an  inconvenience.  Your  Lordship  is  a  man 
of  a  very  lively  and  pleasant  advice;  which  though  one 
should  not  be  forward  to  follow,  yet  it  fitteth  the  time,  and 
what  our  own  humour  inclined  oftentimes  to,  delight  and 
merriment.  For  a  Prince  should  be  of  a  chearful  and 
pleasant  spirit;  not  austere,  hard-fronted,  and  stoical: 

54 


but,  after  serious  affairs,  admitting  recreation,  and  using 
pleasures,  as  sauces  for  meats  of  better  nourishment." 

The  Prince's  Answer  and  Conclusion  to  the  Speeches  of 

the  Counsellors, 
''My  Lords. 
"We  thank  you  for  your  good  opinions;  which  have 
been  so  well  set  forth,  as  we  should  think  ourselves  not 
capable  of  good  council,  if,  in  so  great  variety  of  per- 
swading  reasons,  we  should  suddenly  resolve.  Mean 
while,  it  shall  not  be  amiss  to  make  choice  of  the  last,  and 
upon  more  deliberation  to  determine  of  the  rest ;  and  what 
time  we  spent  in  long  consulting,  in  the  end  we  will  gain 
by  prompt  and  speedy  executing. ' ' 

The  Prince,  having  ended  his  Speech,  arose  from  his 
seat,  and  took  that  occasion  of  revelling:  so  he  made 
choice  of  a  ladv  to  dance  withal;  so  likewise  did  the  Lord 
Ambassador,  the  Pensioners  and  Courtiers  attending  the 
Prince.  The  rest  of  that  night  was  passed  in  those  pass- 
times.  The  i^erformance  of  which  night's  work  being  very 
carefully  and  orderly  handled,  did  so  delight  and  please 
the  Nobles  and  the  other  auditory,  that  thereby  Gray's- 
Inn  did  not  only  recover  their  lost  credit,  and  quite  take 
away  all  the  disgrace  that  the  former  night  of  Errors 
had  incurred;  but  got,  instead  thereof,  so  great  honour 
and  applause,  as  either  the  good  reports  of  our  honour- 
able friends  that  were  present  could  yield  or  we  ourselves 
desire. 

The  next  day  the  Prince,  accompanied  with  the  Ambas- 
sador of  Templaria,  and  attended  by  both  trains,  took  his 
Progress  from  his  Court  of  Gray  a,  to  the  Lord  Mayor's^ 
house,  called  Crosby's  Place,  ih  Bishopsgate-street ;  as 
being,  before  that  time,  invited  to  dine  with  him.    This 


^Slr  John  Spencer. 

55 


shew  was  very  stately,  and  orderly  performed ;  the  Prince- 
being  mounted  upon  a  rich  foot-cloth,  the  Ambassador 
likewise  riding  near  him;  the  Gentlemen  attending,  with 
the  Prince's  officers,  and  the  Ambassador's  favourites, 
before;  and  the  other  coming  behind  the  Prince;  as  he  set 
it  down  in  the  general  marshalling  in  the  beginning. 
Every  one  had  his  feather  in  his  cap,  to  distinguish  of 
whether  State  he  was ;  the  Grayans  using  a  white,  and 
the  Templarians  using  ash-coloured  feathers ;  to  the  num- 
ber of  fourscore  in  all,  very  well  appointed,  and  provided 
of  great  horses  and  foot-cloths,  according  to  their  places. 
Thus  they  rode  very  gallantly,  from  Gray's-Inn,  through 
Chancery-lane,  Fleet-street,  so  through  Cheapside,  Corn- 
hill,  and  to  Croshy's-Place  in  Bishops  gate-street;  where 
Avas  a  very  sumptuous  and  costly  dinner  for  the  Prince, 
and  all  his  Attendants,  with  variety  of  musick,  and  all 
good  entertainment.  Dinner  being  ended,  the  Prince  and 
his  company  having  revelled  a-while,  returned  again  the 
same  way,  and  in  the  same  order  as  he  went  thither,  the 
streets  being  thronged  and  filled  with  people,  to  see  the 
Gentlemen  as  they  passed  by ;  who  thought  there  had  been 
some  great  Prince,  in  very  deed,  passing  through  the 
Cit3^  So  this  popular  shew  through  the  streets  pleased 
the  Lord  Mayor  and  his  Commonalty  so  well,  as  the  great 
Lords,  and  others  of  good  condition  and  civility,  were 
contented  with  our  former  proceedings. 

Shortly  after  this  shew,  there  came  letters  to  our  State 
from  Frederick  Templarins;  wherein  he  desired,  that  his 
Ambassador  might  be  dispatched  with  answer  to  those 
things  which  he  came  to  treat  of.  So  he  was  very  hon- 
ourably dismissed,  and  accompanied  homeward  with  the 
Nobles  of  Purpoole:  which  departure  was  before  the  next 
grand  day.  The  next  grand  night  was  upon  Twelfth-day 
at  night;  at  which  time  the  wonted  honourable  and  wor- 
se 


sliipful  company  of  Jjortls,  Ladies,  and  iviiiglits,  were,  as. 
at  other  times,  assembled ;  and  every  one  of  them  placed 
conveniently,  according  to  their  condition.  And  when 
the  Prince  was  ascended  his  chair  of  State,  and  the 
trumpet  sounded,  there  was  presently  a  shew  which  con- 
cerned his  Highness 's  State  and  Government:  the  inven- 
tion was  taken  out  of  the  Prince's  arms,  as  they  are  blaz- 
oned in  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  by  the  King  at  Arms. 
First,  there  came  six  Knights  of  the  Helmet,  with  three 
that  they  led  as  prisoners,  and  were  attired  like  monsters 
and  miscreants.  The  Knights  gave  the  Prince  to  under- 
stand, that  as  they  were  returning  from  their  adventures 
out  of  Russia,  wherein  they  aided  the  Emperor  of  Russia, 
against  the  Tartars,  they  surprized  these  three  persons, 
which  were  conspiring  against  his  Highness  and  his  dig- 
nity and  that  being  apprehended  by  them,  they  could  not 
urge  them  to  disclose  what  they  were :  by  which  they  rest- 
ing very  doubtful,  there  entered  in  the  two  goddesses 
Virtues  and  Amity;  and  they  said,  that  they  would  dis- 
close to  the  Prince  who  these  suspected  persons  were :  and 
thereupon  shewed,  that  they  were  Envy,  Male-content,, 
and  Folly:  wiiich  three  had  much  misliked  his  Highness's 
])roceedings,  and  had  attempted  many  things  against  his. 
State;  and,  but  for  them  tw^o,  Virtue  and  United  Friend- 
ship, all  their  inventions  had  been  disappointed.  Then 
willed  they  the  Knights  to  depart,  and  to  carry  away  the 
offenders ;  and  that  they  themselves  should  come  in  more 
pleasing  sort,  and  better  befitting  the  present.  So  the 
Knights  departed,  and  Virtue  and  Amity  promised  that 
they  two  would  support  his  Excellency  against  all  his 
foes  whatsoever,  and  then  departed  with  most  pleasant 
musick.  After  their  departure,  entered  the  six  Knights 
in  a  very  stately  mask,  and  danced  a  new  devised  meas-^ 
ure ;  and  after  that,  they  took  to  them  Ladies  and  Gentle-^ 

57 


women,  and  danced  with  them  their  galliards,  and  so  de- 
parted with  musick.  Which  being  done,  the  trumpets 
were  commanded  to  sound,  and  then  the  King  at  Arms 
came  in  before  the  Prince,  and  told  his  Honour,  that  here 
was  arrived  an  Ambassador  from  the  mighty  Emperor 
of  Russia  and  Muscovy,  that  had  some  matters  of  weight 
to  make  known  to  his  Highness.  So  the  Prince  willed  that 
he  should  be  admitted  into  his  presence;  who  came  in 
attire  of  Russia,  accompanied  with  two  of  his  own  coun- 
try in  like  habit.  When  they  were  come  in  presence  of 
the  Prince,  the  Ambassador  made  his  obeysance,  and  took 
out  Letters  of  Credence,  and  humbly  delivered  them  to 
the  Prince,  who  gave  them  to  the  King  at  Arms,  to  be 
read  publicly,  as  followeth: 

To  the  most  High  and  Mighty  HENRY,  Prince  of 
Purpoole. 

"Theodore  Evanwhicli,  the  great  and  mighty  Emperor 
of  all  Russia,  Valderomia,  Muscovia,  and  Novogordia; 
King  of  Rafan,  and  of  Astrakan;  Lord  of  Plescoe  and 
Sinelescoe;  Prince  of  Tnana,  Sogoria,  Perma,  VacheUey, 
and  Bolgaria;  Lord  and  Great  Duke  of  Valliadha,  Nor- 
gordia  in  the  country  of  Cherenega;  and  also  of  Rescod, 
Polotzhoe,  Ogdor,  and  Belesor;  sole  Prince  of  Lothekey, 
Rostow,  Geroslave,  the  white  lake  Liselrund,  Otvdoria, 
Condencia,  and  Fludoria;  Great  Ruler  and  Commander 
of  Siberia,  and  of  all  the  North-side;  and  Lord  Governor 
of  many  other  Countries  and  Provinces.  To  the  most 
mighty,  and  glorious  renowned  Henry,  Prince  of  Pur- 
poole, Archduke  of  Stapulia  and  Bernardia,  Duke  of  High 
and  Nether  Holborn,  Marquis  of  St.  Giles's  and  Totten- 
ham, Count  Palatine  of  Bloomsbury  and  Clerkemuelt, 
Great  Lord  of  the  Cantons  of  Islington,  Kentish  Toivn, 
Paddington,  and  Knightsb ridge.  Knight  of  the  most  hero- 

58 


ical  Order  of  the  Helmet,  and  Sovereign  of  the  same;  all 
health  and  glorious  renown.  We  have  thought  good,  most 
invincible  Prince,  upon  some  accidents  of  importance  hap- 
pened to  our  State,  wherein  the  worthiness  of  some  of 
your  subjects  remaining  here  have  increased  your  fame, 
to  dispatch  to  your  Highness  our  most  faithful  Counsellor 
Faman  Bega,  to  intreat  with  you,  in  our  name,  of  cer- 
tain important  affairs :  which,  though  we  must  confess,  do 
concern  us  in  policy,  to  have  an  effectual  regard  unto; 
yet  withal,  they  are  such  as  may  minister  occasion  to 
your  Highness  to  add  beams  of  honour  to  your  praise 
and  glory,  which  hath  already,  in  a  manner,  equalled  the 
light  of  Heaven  in  brightness,  which  is  seen  throughout 
tlie  whole  world.  We  refer  you  herein  for  the  particulars 
to  such  instructions  as  we  have,  under  our  own  hand,  de- 
livered to  this  our  present  Ambassador :  wherein,  as  also 
in  any  other  points  whereof  he  shall  treat  with  your 
Highness,  in  our  name  and  affairs,  we  pray  your  sacred 
Majesty  to  give  credit  to  him,  as  if  ourself  were  present, 
and  treated  with  you  in  person.  And  so  we  wish  to  your 
Excellency  all  happiness  answerable  to  your  peerless  vir- 
tue. 
Dated  at  our  Imperial  City  of  Mosco." 

When  the  King  at  Arms  had  read  this  Letter,  the 
Ambassador  made  this  Speech  to  the  Prince: 

''Most  Excellent  Prince, 
"Fame  seemed  to  the  Emperor,  my  Sovereign,  to  do 
your  Highness  right,  by  filling  the  world  with  the  re- 
nown of  your  Princely  virtues,  and  valour  of  your  brave 
Court;  till  of  late,  the  gallant  behaviour  and  heroical 
prowess  of  divers  your  Knights  of  the  Helmet,  whom  the 
good  fortune  of  Russia,  addressed  to  your  cold  climate, 
discovered  that  Fame  to  be  either  envious  in  suppressing 

59 


a  great  part  of  your  valour,  or  unable  to  set  forth  so 
admirable  virtues  to  their  full  merits;  for  by  these  five 
Knights  (whose  greatest  vaunts  were,  that  they  were 
your  Excellency's  servants)  an  exceeding  number  of 
Bigarian  Tartars,  whose  vagabond  inroads,  and  inhu- 
mane fierceness  infested  his  borders,  captivated  his 
people,  burnt  his.  cities,  and  spoiled  whole  provinces,  was, 
by  a  most  wonderful  victory,  repulsed,  and  beaten  back. 
And  withal,  by  their  brave  conduct,  they  surprised  an- 
other army  of  Negro  Tartars ;  whose  wretched  devices 
ceased  not  to  work  the  confusion  and  combustion  of  our 
whole  country,  and  diverted  their  barbarous  cruelty 
where  it  might  do  us  most  damage.  These  same  worthy 
Knights,  before  they  could  receive  that  honour  where- 
with, my  Sovereign  intended  to  adorn  their  virtues,  did 
withdraw  themselves,  and  are  retired,  as  his  Majesty  is 
informed,  to. your  Court.  Whereupon,  he  sent  me,  partly 
to  congratulate  your  happiness,  who  deserve  to  command 
over  such  a  number  of  gallant  Gentlemen;  but  especially 
to  conjure  your  Excellency  (according  to  the  ancient 
league  and. amity  continued  betwixt  y^ou.)  that  you  would 
send  him  these  six  Knights,  accompanied  with  an  hundred 
other  of  the  some  Order,  for  he  doubteth  not,  but,  by 
their  virtues,  accompanied  and  attended  with  his  own 
forces,  who  are,  in  largeness  of  dominion,  and  number  of 
people,  and  all  other  warlike  furniture  and  provision, 
inferior  to  no  earthly  potentate,  that  these  runagate  Tar- 
tars shall  be  again  confined  to  their  deserts,  with  their 
memorable  slaughter,  andyour  common  glory  and  profit : 
common  indeed,  both  to  your  Highness  and  him;  inas- 
much as  his  Imperial  Majesty,  contented  only  with  secur- 
ity and  assurance  of  his  people  and  borders,  will  permit 
all  those  large  territories  and  bateable  grounds,  which 
now  serve  those  vermine  for  pasturage,  be  sorted  into 

60 


several  governments,  and  strengthened  with  forts  and 
castles  by  your  direction,  to  be  holden  of  your  Excel- 
lency, as  commendations  by  the  Knights  of  special  virtue 
and  merit  of  vour  Order.  So  shall  vou,  with  honourable 
commodity,  have  a  perpetual  exercise  of  your  virtues, 
become  a  bulwark  of  Christendom,  and  by  raising  con- 
tinual troi)hies  of  strengthened  Tartars,  keep  the  glory 
of  your  virtue  in  everlasting  flourish.  My  Sovereign, 
not  doubting  but  that  your  resolution  will  be  conformable 
to  your  magnanimous  virtue,  and  his  honourable  demand, 
charged  me  only  to  solicit  expedition,  such  as  the  neces- 
sity of  his  people  and  country  doth  require.  In  the  mean 
time,  he  hath  sent  your  Excellency,  for  a  present,  a  ship 
laden  with  divers  of  the  best  and  fairest  fruits,  and  other 
richest  commodities  of  our  country;  not  so  much,  by 
gifts  to  draw  on  your  si)eedy  help,  to  which  he  knoweth 
the  truth  and  justice  of  the  case  will  be  a  spur  sufficient ; 
■or  for  complement  of  an  ordinary  and  seldom  omitted 
companion  of  great  Embassies ;  but  rather  for  a  seal  and 
testimony  of  the  exceeding  honour  that  he  beareth  to 
your  matchless  vertue,  and^the  great  love  he  beareth  to 
3^our  incomparable  person.  The  present  is  at  your  next 
haven,  ready  to  be  offered  to  your  sacred  hands  at  your 
convenient  leisure ;  together  with  some  small  gifts  sent  to 
those  valiant  Knights,  wrose  highly  deserving  virtues 
my  Sovereign  meaneth,  at  their  long  expected  return  to 
his  Court,  to  crown  with  a  garland  more  worthy  his 
greatness  and  their  merits." 

The  Answer  of  the  Prince  to  the  former  Speech. 
"Eussia  Lord, 

''The  Emperor,  your  Master,  is  happy  in  having  so 
honourable  a  Gentlemen  as  vourself  to  do  Jiim  service. 
He  shall  well  perceive,  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  world 

61 


more  acceptable  to  lis,  than  the  friendship  of  a  Prince 
so  mighty  and  illustrious.  We  account  amongst  our 
greatest  happinesses  this  honourable  embassage.  His 
presents  are  so  large  and  bountiful,  as  we  have  right 
good  occasion  to  hold  him  the  most  free  and  magnificent 
Prince  in  the  world.  We  joy  to  hear  of  his  hardy  ven- 
tures, that  by  our  Knights  in  those  parts  have  been, 
atchieved.  They  may  be  glad  that  our  worthy  Brother 
invited  them  to  so  high  an  enterprize,  wherein  they  may 
do  themselves  honour,  and  his  greatness  service.  Rest 
and  refresh  your  Lordship  this  present,  for  now  we  bid 
you  welcome:  assure  yourself  your  request  is  already 
granted,  and  that  in  far  greater  measure  than  you  ex- 
pected or  desired." 

When  the  Prince  had  thus  spoken,  the  Ambassador 
was  placed  in  a  chair  near  the  Prince;  and  then  was 
served  up  a  running  banquet,  for  the  Prince  and  the 
Lords  present,  and  the  rest,  with  variety  of  music. 

Whilst  these  things  were  thus  a-doing,  there  came  a 
post-boy  with  letters  of  intelligence  concerning  the  state, 
from  divers  parts  of  his  Highness 's  provinces,  and  deliv- 
ered them  to  the  Secretary;  who  made  the  Prince  ac- 
quainted therewith,  and  caused  them  to  be  read  openly 
and  publicly. 

A  Letter  of  Advertisement  from  Kniglitsh ridge,  to  the 

Honourable   Council. 

*'I  beseech  your  Honours  to  advertise  his  Highness, 
that  in  his  Excellency's  Canton  of  Knightshridge,  there 
do  haunt  certain  foreigners,  that  seize  upon  all  passen- 
gers, taking  from  them  by  force  their  goods,  under  pre- 
tence, that,  being  merchant  strangers,  and  using  traffic 
into  his  Highness 's  territories  of  Clerkemvell,  Islington, 
and  elsewhere,  they  have  been  robbed  of  their  goods, 

62 


spoiled  of  their  wares;  whereby  they  were  utterly  un- 
done :  and  that  his  Honour,  of  his  good  will,  hath  been 
pleased  to  grant  them  Letters  of  Reprisal,  to  recover 
their  loss  of  them  that  come  next  to  their  hands :  by 
colour  whereof,  they  lay  hold  of  all  that  pass  by,  without 
respect.  Some  of  their  names,  as  I  understand,  are, 
Johannes  Shaghag,  Rohertus  Untruss,  James  Rapax, 
alias  Capax.  There  do  reign  likewise  thereabouts  an- 
other sort  of  dangerous  people,  under  the  name  of  Poor 
Soldiers,  that  say  they  were  maimed,  and  lost  their 
limbs  in  his  Honour's  service  and  wars  against  the  Ama- 
zons; and  they  pretend  to  have  pass-ports  from  their 
Captains.  Some  of  them,  say,  they  have  served  under 
Sir  Robert  Kemp  and  Sir  William  Cooke;  others  under 
William  Knaplochs,  Lord  Marshall,  Sir  Francis  Marham, 
Captain  Crymes,  Captain  Conny,  Yelverton,  Hugan,  Sir 
Francis  Davison,  and  some  other  of  good  place.  Some 
say,  that  they  were  maimed  with  fire-locks ;  others,  in  the 
trenches ;  others  in  going  with  their  captains  to  discover 
ambuscadoes  of  the  enemy,  and  to  view  the  forts ;  others, 
in  standing  sentry,  whilst  the  captains  were  busied  in 
entering  the  breach;  others,  in  the  very  approach  at  the 
first.  But  the  number  of  them  is  great,  and  the  same 
inclined  to  do  much  mischief.  Another  sort  there  is,  that 
pretend  that  they  have  protections  to  beg,  in  regard  of 
their  losses  by  shipwreck  upon  certain  rocks  of  hazard, 
barred  quarter-trays,  high-men,  and  low-men,  bom-cards, 
the  sands  of  bowle-allies,  the  shelf  of  new-cut,  the  gulf  of 
myne  and  gill,  and  such  other  like  places  of  peril.  Some 
of  them  are  called  by  the  names  of  Harry  Ordinary,  Jack 
Moneyless,  Will  Cog-all,  and  Roger  Spend-all.  These 
aforesaid  people  do  gather  together  in  great  numbers; 
and  his  Excellency's  subjects  hereabouts  stand  in  great 
fear  of  outrages  by  them  to  be  committed,  except  his 

63 


Highness  do  prevent  the  same,  and  that  speedily,  by 
sending  some  of  the  Captains  aforesaid  to  disperse  them. 

"Your  Honour's  at  command, 

''HENRY  BROWNBILL. 

"From  Knightsh ridge,  Jan.  5,  1594-5." 

Another  Letter  from  Sea,  directed  to  the  Lord  Ad- 
miral. 

"By  my  letters  given  at  Pont-Holhorn,  the  last  of 
December,  I  gave  your  Honour  to  understand,  that  his 
Excellency's  merchants  of  Piirpoole  began  to  surcease 
their  traffick  to  Clerkenwell,  Newington  and  Bank-side, 
and  such  like  roads  of  charge  and  discharge,  because  they 
feared  lest  certain  rovers,  which  lay  hovering  about  the 
Narrow  Seas,  should  intercept  them  in  their  voyages; 
since  which  time,  may  it  please  your  Honour,  I  have 
discovered  an  huge  Armado  of  French  Amazons,  to  the 
number  of  seven  hundred  caracts,  galeasses,  great  galeas- 
ses,  and  tall  ships;  besides  pinnaces,  frigots,  carvels, 
shallops,  and  such  small  vessels  innumerable ;  which  being 
dispersed  into  sundry  creeks,  work  daily  much  damage  to 
all  sorts  of  people,  and  adventurers  hold  in  durance;  not 
suffering  one  man  to  escape,  till  he  have  turned  French. 
Divers  ensigns,  standards,  pendants,  tilting-staves,  short 
trunchiors  for  the  principal  officers,  and  such  like  pro- 
vision for  his  Excellency's  triumphs,  they  have  cast 
overboard;  for  no  other  cause,  save  that  his  subjects 
were  bound  inward  from  Gelderland,  a  nation  that  they 
have  always  hated ;  besides  that,  they  exact  so  unreason- 
ably of  those  that  trade  into  Netherland,  that  they  leave, 
them  neither  lands,  goods,  nor  good  wares.  Also  they 
sink  all  those  that  use  any  dealings  with  the  people  of 
Cleive,  without  respect,  whether  he  be  merchant  or  man 
of  war.     To  conclude,  they  burn  all  those  vessels  that 

64 


transport  any  dry  wares  into  tlie  Low  Countries. 
Moreover,  I  am  to  advertise  your  Honour,  that,  on  the 
9th  day  of  January,  in  the  Straits  of  the  Gulf  of  Clerken- 
well,  there  was  a  hot  skirmish  between  a  merchant  of 
St.  Giles,  called  Amarpso,  and  the  Admiral  of  the  Ama- 
zons, called  the  Rowse-flower,  wherein  the  merchant  hav- 
ing gained  the  wind,  came  up  with  her  in  such  close  man- 
ner, that  he  brake  his  bolt-sprite  in  her  hinder  quarter; 
yet  notwithstanding,  the  tight  continued  fiercely  on  either 
part  two  long  hours  and  more ;  in  which  time  our  gunner, 
being  a  very  expert  soldier,  shot  her  four  or  five  times 
under  water :  then  the  merchant,  perceiving  his  powder  to 
be  spent,  was  inforced  to  grapple;  and  so,  with  great 
resolution,  laid  her  a-board  on  the  waste,  which  he  found 
stoutly  defended  by  the  French;  yet,  at  length,  being 
driven  from  their  close  fight,  they  were  constrained  to 
keep  under  hatches,  where  one  of  the  soldiers  entring, 
spied  fire  in  the  gun-room ;  notwithstanding,  he  descended 
very  desperately.  Then  the  admiral,  seeing  no  hope  to 
escape,  fired  her  powder,  and  burnt  herself,  the  soldiers, 
and  the  ship,  which,  as  I  after  learned,  was  of  an  incom- 
parable burden;  insomuch,  that  she  had  been  known  to 
have  borne  nine  hundred  fighting  men  in  her  poop.  Her 
chief  lading  was  cochenella,  musk,  guaiacum,  tabaco,  and 
Le  grand  Vezolle.  The  chief  of  account  that  were  blown 
up,  were  Catharina  Dardana,  Pecta  de  Lee,  and  Maria  de 
Rotulis.  The  rich  Carrick  of  Newington,  coming  to 
rescue  their  admiral,  were  so  close  at  fight  when  she  was 
fired,  that  the  flame  of  the  wild-fire  caught  hold  of  their 
captain's  inner  cabbin:  and  had  not  one  Barbara  de  Chir- 
urgia  been  ready  with  his  syringe,  to  have  cast  on  water, 
milk,  lotium,  and  such  like  cooling  liquors,  and  there 
quenched  the  wild-fire  betimes,  they  had  been  both, 
doubtless,  consumed  to  ashes;  but,  by  his  care  and  com- 

65 


ing,  they  are  both  escaped  alive,  though  shrewdly 
scorched,  and  are  taken  prisoners.  The  whole  number 
of  them  that  perished  in  this  hot  conflict,  is  five  hundred 
fifty-five;  and  prisoners  ninety-nine.  Our  ship  had  no 
other  hurt,  save  that  she  sprang  her  main-mast  in  such 
sort,  as  that  she  is  not  able  to  bear  any  high  sail.  Thus 
having  advertised  your  Honour  of  every  particular  acci- 
dent which  I  could  learn,  I  am  humbly  to  desire  your 
Lordship  to  acquaint  his  Excellency  and  his  Privy  Coun- 
cil herewith;  that  such  speedy  order  may  be  taken 
therein,  as  seemeth  to  their  wisdoms  most  convenient. 
And  so,  with  all  duty,  I  kiss  your  hands. 
"Your  Honour's  servants, 

JOHN  PUTTANEMICO. 

"From  the  Harbour  of  Bridewell,  the  10th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1594." 

There  were  also  read  like  letters  from  Stapulia  and 
Bernardia,  of  intelligences,  and  also  from  Loiv  Holhorn; 
wherein  were  set  forth  the  plots  of  rebellion  and  insur- 
rection, that  those  his  Excellency's  subjects  had  devised 
against  his  Highness  and  State,  and  some  other  occur- 
rences in  those  parts  of  his  Highness 's  dominions.  And 
when  they  were  read,  the  Prince  made  this  Speech  fol- 
lowing: 

"These  suddain  accidents  (Lords)  would  make  a 
Prince  of  little  spirit  suspect  himself  to  be  unfortunate. 
The  Stapulian  fallen  away;  the  Bernardian  holds  out! 
News  of  tumults,  treasons,  conspiracies,  commotions, 
treacheries,  insurrections!  Say  our  lands  were  sacked, 
our  wealth  spoiled,  our  friends  slain,  ourself  forsaken, 
vanquished,  captivated,  and  all  the  evils  that  might  be 
were  fallen  upon  us;  yet  could  there  be  nothing  so  ad- 
verse, but  that  our  fortitude  and  heighth  of  courage  were 

66 


able  to  over-work.  These  events  are  not  matters  of 
moment,  or  of  substance  of  our  government :  these  are  not 
misfortunes,  but  Fortune's  jests,  that  gives  them  she  loves 
not  shews  of  good  luck,  that  in  the  end  she  may  do  them 
greater  spight ;  but,  when  she  meaneth  good,  she  prepares 
men  with  some  little  bitterness,  that  her  good  turns,  when 
they  come,  may  seem  more  pleasant  and  delightful. 
These  events  proceed  of  error  in  our  former  government, 
who  should  not  have  put  great  men,  well  loved  or  popular, 
into  so  great  places  of  sovereignty;  nor  one  man  should 
possess  so  great  a  place,  of  so  great  command;  by  too 
much  authority  and  greatness,  a  right  good  mind  is 
oftentimes  corrupted;  in  this  late,  we  rather  allow  a 
severe  man,  somewhat  hated:  for  better  were  a  little 
profitable  civil  dissention,  than  a  league  and  love  that 
were  likely  to  prove  dangerous.  Lords,  you  shall  find 
it  an  harder  matter  to  keep  things  once  gotten,  than  at 
the  first  to  obtain  it.  Hitherto  no  Prince  in  this  world 
hath  had  better  success  than  ourself.  Men  say,  that 
sovereignty  is  uncertain,  and  an  ill  security;  subject  to 
cares,  troubles,  envy,  treacheries,  hate,  fear,  distrust ;  we 
have  hitherto  found  none  of  those.  That  a  Prince  hath 
no  sure  friend,  no  faithful  servant,  no  safe  place,  no 
quiet  hour,  no  secure  pleasure;  all  these  have  we,  and 
more,  in  great  abundance;  and  these  things,  which  to 
other  Princes  have  been  the  occasions  of  mishaps,  have 
been  to  us  the  very  instruments  of  pleasure,  and  much 
service.  What  Prince  ever  found  in  his  subjects,  in  mat- 
ters of  weight,  more  love,  more  loyalty,  more  readiness, 
more  service?  When  we  have  been  inclined  to  solace, 
what  liveliness,  what  alacrity,  what  ingenious  devices, 
sports,  jollities,  what  variety  of  pleasure!  How  have 
we  been  honoured  with  the  presents  of  divers  Princes, 
Lords,  and  men  of  great  worth;  who,  confident  in  our 

67 


love,  without  fear  or  distrust,  have  come  to  visit  us ;  by 
whose  honourable  kindness,  we  are  to  them  for  ever 
devincf,  and  most  firmly  bounden:  How  hath  the  fav- 
ourable regard,  and  bright  eyes  of  brave  ladies  shined 
upon  our  endeavors,  which  to  their  honours  and  service 
have  been  ever  intended !  How  have  we  been  gratulated 
with  divers  Ambassadors  from  divers  Nations!  What 
concourse  of  all  people  hath  been  continually  at  our 
Court,  to  behold  our  magnificence!  Shall  small  matters 
therefore  daunt  us?  Shall  a  few  tumultuary  disorders 
dismay  us  I  Shall  ill-guided  insurrections  trouble  us, 
that  are,  like  mushrooms,  sprung  up  in  a  night,  and  rot- 
ten before  the  morning?  We  are  loath  to  believe  that 
there  be  such  sparks  of  dissention  and  mischief:  but,  if 
there  be,  we  will  make  haste  to  quench  them,  before  they 
grow  into  violent  flames ;  for  it  is  no  longer  consulting, 
where  a  man  cannot  commend  the  counsel  before  he  hath 
seen  the  effect.  Nor  shall  it  require  the  presence  of  a 
Prince  to  settle  these  small  commotions.  Lords,  we  send 
you  to  these  places  where  need  is;  and,  as  occasion 
serveth,  we  will  take  order  that  garrisons  be  planted, 
citadels  erected,  and  whatsoever  else  be  performed,  that 
shall  be  convenient  to  subject  and  bring  under  these 
unsettled  provinces.  Ourself,  with  Our  chosen  Knights, 
with  an  army  Royal,  will  make  towards  Our  Brother  of 
Russia,  with  my  Lord  here,  his  Ambassador,  presently 
to  join  with  him  against  his  enemies,  the  Negarian  Tar- 
tars; more  dreadful,  the  Barbarian  Tartars;  And  if  For- 
tune will  not  grace  Our  good  attempt,  as  I  am  rightful 
Prince,  and  true  Sovereign  of  the  honourable  Order  of 
the  Helmet,  and  by  all  those  Ladies  whom,  in  Knightly 
honour  I  love  and  serve,  I  will  make  the  name  of  a  Gray- 
an  Knight  more  dreadful  to  the  Barbarian  Tartars,  than 
the  Macedonian  to  the  wearied  Persians,  the  Roman  to 

68 


the  dispersed  Britains,  or  tlie  Castalian  to  the  weakened 
Indians.  Gentle  Ladies,  be  now  benign  and  gracious  to 
your  Knights,  that  never  pleased  themselves  but  when 
their  service  x)leased  you;  that  for  your  sakes  shall  un- 
dertake hard  adventures,  that  will  make  your  names  and 
beauties  most  famous,  even  in  foreign  regions.  Let 
your  favour  kindle  the  vigour  of  their  spirits,  wherewith 
they  abound ;  for  they  are  the  men  by  whom  your  fame, 
your  honour,  your  virtue,  shall  be  for  ever  advanced, 
protected  and  admired." 

When  the  Prince  had  concluded,  for  his  farewell  he 
took  a  lady  to  dance  withal,  and  so  did  the  rest  of  the 
Knights  and  Courtiers;  and  after  some  time  spent  in 
revelling,  the  Prince  took  his  way  to  his  lodging,  and  so 
the  company  dissolved,  and  made  an  end  of  this  night's 
work. 

On  the  next  morning  his  Highness  took  his  journey 
towards  liussia,  with  the  Ambassador,  and  there  he  re- 
mained until  Candelmas;  at  which  time,  after  his  glor- 
ious conquests  abroad,  his  Excellency  returned  home 
again ;  in  which  the  purpose  of  the  Gentlemen  was  much 
disappointed  by  the  Readers  and  Ancients  of  the  House, 
by  reason  of  the  Term:  so  that  very  good  inventions, 
which  were  to  be  performed  in  public  at  his  entertain- 
ment into  the  house  again,  and  two  grand  nights  which 
were  intended  at  his  triumphal  return,  wherewith  his 
reign  had  been  conceitedly  determined,  were  by  the  afore- 
said Readers  and  Governors  made  frustrate,  for  the  want 
of  room  in  the  hall,  the  scaffolds  being  taken  away,  and 
forbidden  to  be  built  up  again  (as  would  have  been  nec- 
essary for  the  good  discharge  of  such  a  matter)  thought 
convenient;  but  it  shewed  rather  what  was  i3erformed, 
than  intended.     Briefly,  it  was  as  f olloweth : 

69 


Upon  the  28tli  of  January,  the  hall  being  sate  at  dinner, 
with  Eeaders,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  House,  suddainly 
sounded  a  trumpet;  which  being  thrice  done,  there 
entered  the  King  at  Arms,  and,  in  the  midst  of  them,  said 
as  followeth: 

*'0n  the  behalf  of  my  Sovereign  Lord,  Sir  HENRY, 
the  Right  Excellent  and  all-conquering  Prince  of  Pur- 
poole,  Archduke  of  Stapula  and  Bernardia,  Duke  of  High 
and  Nether  Holborn,  Marquis  of  St.  Giles's  and  Totten- 
ham, Count  Palatine  of  Bloomshury  and  Clerkemvell. 
Great  Lord  of  the  Cantons  of  Islington,  Kentish  Toivn, 
Paddington  and  Knight shridge,  Knight  of  the  most 
heroical  Order  of  the  Helmet,  and  Sovereign  of  the  same ; 
I,  his  Excellency's  King  at  Arms,  dispatched  from  his 
royal  navy,  triumphantly  returning  from  his  glorious 
conquests  of  the  Negarian  Tartars,  do,  in  his  High- 
ness's  name,  command  all  his  officers.  Knights  and 
Pensioners,  to  give  their  attendance  to  his  Highness 's 
person,  at  his  port  of  Blach-icallia,  on  the  1st  of  Febru- 
ary. And  his  Highness  hath  further  commanded  me  to 
give  notice  to  all  his  servants  within  his  dominions,  of 
whatsoever  condition,  that  they  be  ready  to  perform  all 
offices  of  obedience  and  subjection,  as  well  becometh  their 
loyalty  to  so  gracious  a  Sovereign." 

When  this  news  of  the  Prince's  return  out  of  Russia 
was  thus  sent  abroad,  and  that  it  was  known  that  his 
Highness  was  to  come  by  Greenwich,  where  the  Court 
then  lay,  it  was  given  the  Gentlemen  to  understand,  that 
her  Majesty  did  expect,  that  in  passing  by,  our  Prince 
should  land,  and  do  his  homage;  the  rather  because,  in 
Christmas,  there  was  great  expectation  of  his  coming 
thither,  to  present  her  ]\lajesty  with  some  pass -time,  and 
none  performed.     Whereupon  it  was  determined,  that,  \n 

70 


passing  by,  there  should  be  a  letter  directed  to  Sir 
Thomas  Heneage,  our  honourable  good  friend,  that  he 
should  excuse  us  for  that  time ;  which  letter  is  hereafter 
set  down. 

Upon  the  1st  of  February,  the  Prince  and  his  train 
were  met  at  Blackwall;  from  whence  they  came  up  the 
river  of  Thames,  in  a  very  gallant  shew.  Being  come 
so  near  his  own  country,  he  left  his  navy  of  ships,  as  not 
fit  for  so  short  a  cut,  and  the  matter  not  being  very  great 
or  dangerous;  and  he  and  his  retinue  took  to  them  fif- 
teen barges,  bravely  furnished  with  standards,  pendants, 
flags,  and  streamers ;  there  was  also  in  every  barge  music 
and  trumpets;  and  in  some  ordnance  and  shot.  Being 
thus  gallantly  appointed,  we  came  on  our  way  by  the 
Stairs  at  Greenwich,  where  the  ordnance  was  shot  off, 
and  the  whole  navy  made  a  sail  round  about;  and  the 
second  time,  when  the  Admiral,  in  which  the  Prince  was, 
came  directly  before  the  Court  Stairs,  his  Highness  dis- 
patched two  Gentlemen  with  letters  to  the  Right  Honour- 
able Sir  Thomas  Heneage.  The  copy  whereof  follow- 
eth: 

''Henry  Prince  of  Purpoole  to  the  Eight  Honourable  Sir 

Thomas  Heneage. 

''Most  Honourable  Knight, 
"I  have  now  accomplished  a  most  tedious  and  haz- 
ardous journey,  though  very  honourable,  into  Russia; 
and  returning  within  the  view  of  the  Court  of  your  re- 
nowned Queen,  my  gracious  Sovereign,  to  whom  I  ac- 
knowledge homage  and  service,  I  thought  good,  in  pass- 
ing by,  to  kiss  her  sacred  hands,  as  a  tender  of  the  zeal 
and  duty  I  owe  unto  her  Majesty;  but,  in  making  the 
offer,  I  found  my  desire  was  greater  than  the  ability  of 
my  body;  which,  by  length  of  my  journey,  and  my  sick-^ 

71 


ness  at  sea,  is  so  weakened,  as  it  were  very  dangerous 
for  me  to  adventure  it.  Therefore,  most  honourable 
friend,  let  me  intreat  you  to  make  my  humble  excuse  to 
her  Majesty  for  this  present:  and  to  certitie  her  High- 
.ness,  that  I  do  hope,  by  the  assistance  of  the  Divine  Prov- 
idence, to  recover  my  former  strength  about  Shrovetide ; 
at  which  time  I  intend  to  repair  to  her  Majesty's  Court 
(if  it  may  stand  with  her  gracious  pleasure)  to  offer  my 
service,  and  relate  the  success  of  my  journey.  And  so 
praying  your  Honour  to  return  me  her  Majesty's  answer, 
I  wish  you  all  honour  and  happiness. 

''Dated  from  ship-board,  at  our  Ark  of  Vanity,  the 
1st  of  February  1594." 

The  letter  being  delivered,  and  her  Majesty  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  contents,  her  gracious  answer  was: 
"That  if  the  letter  had  not  excused  his  passing  by,  he 
should  have  done  homage  before  he  had  gone  away,  al- 
though he  had  been  a  greater  Prince  than  he  was:  yet," 
she  said,  "she  liked  well  his  gallant  shews,  that  were 
made  at  his  triumphant  return."  And  her  Highness 
added  further.  "That  if  he  should  come  at  Shrovetide, 
he  and  his  followers  should  have  entertainment  accord- 
ing to  his  dignity."  And  the  messenger  returned  an^ 
swer. 

The  Prince  and  his  company  continued  their  course 
until  they  came  to  the  Tower;  where,  by  her  Majesty's 
commandment,  he  was  welcomed  with  a  volley  of  great 
ordnance,  by  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower.  At  the  Tow- 
er-hill there  waited  for  the  Prince's  landing,  men  at- 
tending with  horses,  very  gallantly  appointed,  for  all  the 
company,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred;  the  most  of 
them  being  great  horses,  and  the  rest  very  choice  geld- 
ings ;  and  all  very  bravely  furnished  with  all  things  nec- 

72 


essary.  So  the  Prince  being  mounted,  and  his  company 
in  order,  as  before  set  down,  every  man  according  to  his 
office,  with  the  ensign  thereof,  they  rode  very  gallantly 
through  Tower  Street,  Fenchnrch  Street,  Gracechurch 
Street,  Cornhill,  Cheapside,  and  so  through  St.  Paul's 
Church  Yard;  where,  at  St.  Paul's  school,  his  Highness 
was  entertained  with  an  oration,  made  by  one  of  the 
scholars  of  that  school ;  the  copy  whereof  f olloweth : 

''HENRICO,  Illustrissimo  &  Potentissimo  Pur- 
poolae  Principi,  Archi-duci  Stapuliae  &  Bernardiae. 
Superioris  &  Inferioris  Holboni  Duci,  Sancti  Aegidii  & 
Tottenham  Marchioni,  de  ClerJcenivell  S  Bloomshurv 
Comiti  Palatino,  Domino  magno  Cantonum  de  Islington, 
Kentislitoiun,  Paddington,  S  Knightshridge,  Heroici  Or- 
dinis  Galeolae  Equiti  Aurato,  &  ejusdem  Domino  Seren- 
issimo. 

"Importunum  fortasse  fuerit  (Purpooliensis  Prin- 
ceps  Serenissime)  apud  tantam  Majestatem  tuam  tam 
intempestivo  tempore  perorare.  Vix  enim  sperare  ausus 
sum,  velle  te,  qui  tantam  personam  sustines  tuumque 
hunc  comitatum  vere  Aulicum,  post  victorias  partas  terra 
marique  maximas,  ad  vocem  puerilem  in  media  instruct- 
issimi  triumphi  solemniiate  consistere.  Verum  per  af- 
fibilitatem  in  summis  principibus  semper  laudatissimam, 
liceat  mihi  praetereunti  celsitudini  tuse  musarum  nostra- 
rum  benevolentiam  offerre,  &  gratulationem  banc  meam 
qualemcunque  post  tam  illustrem  tuum  &  triumphant- 
em,  ac  per  totum  orbem  divulgatum  e  Russia  reditum,  liac 
mea  oratione  Generosis  omnibus  testatum  relinquere. 
Quamvis  enim  subito  nobis  excidat,  &  ad  tantam  Majes- 
tatem  quasi  obstupescat  oratio,  gratulatio  tamen  quae 
magis  sit  offerri,  quseque  sit  officii  &  amoris  erga  virtutes 
Generosas    plenior    afferri    certe    quidem    non    potest. 

73 


Nonne  vides  civitatem  ipsam  quasi  sedibus  siiis  convul- 
sam  ad  congratulandum  tanto  Principi  prbcedere  f  Quid 
existimas  totum  liunc  concursum  cogitare?  In  cujus  ora 
vultusque  horum  omnium  oculos  conjectos  putas?  Quern 
sensum  reddis  amicorum  nostrorum?  Quid  cupimus? 
Quid  optamus  ?  Quid  agimus  ?  Nonne  ut  tam  voluntates 
nostras  testemur,  quam  victoriis  gratulemur  tuis  1  Quid 
igitur  mirum  si  scliola,  etiam  nostra  virtutum  Genero- 
sarum  emula,  victoriis  &  triumphis  illustrissimis  gratu- 
lari  gestiat?  Perge  igitur,  &  optimis  auspiciis  perge^ 
Clarissime  Princeps,  ad  Purpooliense  palatium  tuuni 
redito,  Grayorum  oraculum,  quo  tanquam  Delphici  Apol- 
linis  voce  fatidica  omnes  controversiae  dirimuntur.  De 
Hispano  lioste  omnium  Principum  communi  invadendo, 
consulito.  Quam  facile  tuus  jam  sanguine  madens  Tar- 
tarorum  gladius  praesertim,  si  Templarios  tibi  antiquo 
foedere  conjunctos  in  belli  novi  societatem  asciscas,  alior- 
um  omnium  &  strictos  gladios  retundet,  &  clypeos  excut- 
iet?  Hispani  invidia  rumpantur  ut  Ilia  Codro.  Interim 
vero  MusaB  nostras  &  praeteritis  tuis  applaudent  victoriis, 
&  Palladem  suam  exorabunt  antiquam  Grayorum,  ut  te 
alterum  jam  Agamemnonem,  qui  multos  liabes  Achilles  & 
Ulysses  Comites  tuos,  galea  sua  induat,  clypeo  protegat, 
8}  hasta  (hostibus  tuis  omnibus  fusis  profligatisque)  in 
perpetuum  conservat. ' ' 

The  Oration  being  ended,  the  Prince  rewarded  the  boy 
very  bountifully,  and  thanked  them  for  their  good  wills, 
and  forwardness  to  shew  the  same.  Then  we  marched  on 
our  way,  as  before,  by  Ludgate,  and  through  Fleet 
Street;  where,  as  all  the  way  else,  the  streets  were  so 
thronged  and  tilled  with  people,  that  there  was  left  but 
room  for  the  horsemen  that  were  to  pass.  In  this  state 
the  Prince  was  conducted  to  Gray's  Inn,  where  his  Ex- 

74 


cellency  was  received  by  a  peal  of  ordnance,  and  sound 
of  trumpets,  and  all  the  good  entertainment  that  all  his 
loving  subjects  could  make,  to  shew  their  love  and  loyalty 
to  his  Highness. 

The  Prince,  being  thus  received,  came,  after  supper, 
into  the  hall  and  there  he  danced  and  revelled  among  the 
Nobles,  and  others  of  his  own  Court;  and  in  like  manner 
they  spent  the  day  following :  but  there  was  no  other  per- 
formance, by  reason  of  want  of  the  stage  and  scaffolds, 
till  Shrovetide,  that  they  went  to  the  Court :  and  the  things 
that  were  then  performed  before  her  Majesty,  were 
rather  to  discharge  our  own  promise,  than  to  satisfie 
the  expectations  of  others.  In  that  regard,  the  plot  of 
those  sports  were  but  small ;  the  rather,  that  tediousness 
might  be  avoided,  and  confused  disorder,  a  thing  which 
might  easily  happen  in  a  multitude  of  actions ;  the  sports 
therefore  consisted  of  a  mask,  and  some  speeches  that 
were  as  introductions  to  it ;  as  f olloweth : 

The  Speakers. 

An  Esquire  of  the  Prince's  Company  attended  by  a 
Tartarion  Page. 

Proteus  the  Sea-god,  attended  by  two  Tritons. 

Thamesis   and   Amphitrite,  who   likewise  were   at- 
tended by  their  Sea-nymphs. 

These  five  were  musicians,  which  sung  on  the  first 
coming  on  the  Stage. 

At  the  first  coming  on  the  Stage,  the  Nymphs  and  Tri- 
tons sung  this  HjTiin  following,  in  praise  of  Neptune. 


75 


Of  Neptune 's  empire  let  us  sing, 
At  whose  command  the  waves  obey, 
To  whom  rivers  tribute  pay, 
Down  the  high  mountains  sliding: 
To  whom  the  scaly  nation  yields 
Homage  for  their  chrystal  fields. 
Wherein  they  dwell. 

And  every  Sea-god  praise  again, 
Yearly  out  of  his  wat'ry  cell. 
To  deck  great  Xeptune's  diadem. 

The  Tritons  dancing  in  a  ring. 
Before  his  palace-gates,  do  make 
The  waiters  (sic)  with  their  trumpets  quake. 
Like  the  great  thunder  sounding. 

The  Sea-nymphs  chaunt  their  accents  shrill. 
And  the  Syrens  taught  to  kill 
With  their  sweet  voice, 

Make  every  echoing  voice  reply 
Unto  their  gentle  mourning  noise. 
In  praise  of  Neptune's  empery. 

Which  being  ended,  the  Speakers  made  their  Speeches 

in  order  as  followeth: 

Esquire, 

Proteus,  it  seems  you  lead  a  merry  life ; 
Your  music  follows  you  where-e'er  you  go. 
I  thought  you  Sea-gods,  as  in  your  abode. 
So  in  your  nature,  had  not  been  unlike 
To  fishes ;  the  which,  as  say  philosophers. 
Have  so  small  sense  of  music's  delight. 
As  'tis  a  doubt  not  fully  yet  resolv'd. 
Whether  of  hearing  they  have  sense  or  no. 

76 


Proteus. 

'Twas  great  discourse  of  reason,  to  regard 
The  dreaming  guess  of  a  philosopher, 
That  never  held  his  idle  buzzing  head 
Under  the  water  half  an  hour's  space. 
More  than  that  famous  old  received  history 
Of  good  Arion,  by  a  dolphin  saved. 

Esquire. 

Well,  let  that  pass,  and  to  the  purpose  now ; 
I  thought  that  you,  that  are  a  demy-god. 
Would  not  have  fail'd  my  expectation  thus, 

Proteus. 

Why  so,  fair  'Squire?    Is  not  my  promise  kept. 
And  duly  the  appointed  time  observ'd? 

Esquire. 

Yes ;  and  'tis  that  in  which  I  rest  deceiv'd : 
I  rather  deem'd,  and  not  without  good  cause, 
That  those  still  floating  regions  where  you  hlcte, 
And  th'  ever  changing  nature  that  you  have, 
Nought  else  but  breach  of  promise,  promised. 

Proteus. 

'Twere  strange  if  that  my  word,  which  credit  keeps. 

In  future  things,  and  hidden  secrecies. 

Should  fondly  fail  in  keeping  promise  made : 

Fondly  indeed,  when  'tis  for  my  avail. 

Here  are  the  rocks ;  your  person,  or  your  prize. 

But  tell  me,  'Squire ;  where 's  th'  appointed  place, 

In  which  we  shall  these  vaunted  wonders  see? 

77 


JEsqtiire. 

Well  may  you  wonders  term  them,  Proteus : 
For  these  are  wonders  that  pass  human  wit: 
These  shall  surpass  thy  wit,  though  half  divine. 
But,  for  to  put  you  out  of  further  doubt. 
This  is  the  place,  where  all  those  promises, 
Agreed  upon  betwixt  the  Prince  and  you. 
Shall  be  perform 'd;  and  shall  be  so  perform 'd, 
So  far  beyond  your  doubting  expectation. 
So  far  beyond  his  modest  declaration. 
And  you  shall  say,  thrice  happy  Proteus ; 
Whose  ears  unblessed  were  to  bless  mine  eyes. 

Ampliitrite. 

Your  fair  set  speeches  make  us  two  amazed. 
But  tell  us,  'Squire,  what  be  those  j^romises. 
And  those  agreed  covenants?     And  whereon 
Did  they  arise  'twixt  Proteus  and  your  Prince? 

Esquire. 

Fair  Ampliitrite,  I  will  tell  you  all. 

After  the  victory  at  Austrican 

Had  made  an  end  of  the  Tartian  war, 

And  quite  dispers'd  our  vanquish 'd  enemies 

Unto  their  hords,  and  huge  vast  wilderness ; 

Our  noble  Prince,  and  his  couragious  Knights, 

Whose  untry'd  valour,  in  the  battle  fought, 

Was  rather  warm'd,  than  fully  exercis'd, 

Finding  no  enterprise  that  did  deserve 

Th'  employment  of  their  brave  united  force. 

After  assignment  of  a  day  and  place. 

Where  both  himself  and  all  his  Knights  should  meet, 

Dispers'd  themselves  into  many  sundry  quests, 

To  seek  adventures  as  they  should  befal. 

78 


The  Prince  himself,  who  only  was  attended 

By  me  his  'Squire,  had  many  strange  exploits; 

AVhich,  since  they  shortly  shall  be  put  in  print, 

Join'd  with  Prince  Arthur's  famous  chronicle, 

I  shall  not  now  need  to  repeat  at  large. 

Amongst  the  rest,  when  as  the  time  approach 'd, 

That,  as  it  was  assign 'd,  we  should  all  meet. 

It  thus  fell  out :  the  Prince  one  sun-shine  day. 

Resting  himself  within  a  goodly  tuft 

Of  tall  streight  fir-trees  that  adorn 'd  the  shore, 

Reading  a  letter,  lately  sent  to  him 

From  one  of  his  brave  Knights,  that  did  import, 

How  he,  in  token  of  his  duteous  love. 

And  for  a  trophy  of  his  victories. 

Had  lately  sent  him  a  commodity 

Of  pigmies,  taken  in  a  private  conquest. 

Resting  and  residing;  suddainly  he  espy'd 

Of  porpoises  a  great  unusual  j3ock  . 

Playing  and  springing  in  the  climbing  waves. 

Drawn  with  this  sight  still  nearer  to  the  shore. 

Mounting  a  little  cliff,  he  soon  discern 'd 

A  cave,  whose  frame  seem'd  more  than  natural; 

And  viewing  near  with  wary  heedful  eyes. 

At  length  he  spy'd  this  fish  hard  there  asleep ; 

Whom  by  his  head  and  haviour  he  suspected 

To  be  this  Proteus ;  as  it  was  indeed. 

Our  Prince  streight,  ready  at  his  Fortune's  call. 

With  easie  stealing  steps  drew  near  to  him : 

And  being  near,  with  great  agility. 

Seized  suddainly  upon  this  demy-god. 

He  thus  surpris'd,  resorted  presently 

To  his  familiar  arts,  and  turning  tricks. 

My  Lord,  like  to  a  skilful  Falconer, 

Continu'd  still  to  keep  his  fast'ned  hold. 

79 


Thamesis. 


The  story  of  those  oft  transformed  shapes, 
I  long  to  hear  from  you  that  present  were, 
And  an  eye-witness  of  that  strange  conflict. 


Esquire. 


And  shall  fair  Thamesis  know  then,  that  Proteus, 

Viewing  the  gallant  shape  and  budding  youth 

Of  my  brave  Lord,  the  form  that  first  he  took. 

Was  of  a  goodly  Lady,  passing  fair; 

Hoping,  belike,  that  whilst  he  us'd  respect 

Due  to  her  matchless  beauty,  and  her  sex. 

Himself  being  now  unloos  'd,  mighth  slide  away : 

But  finding  him  that  knew  his  wily  shifts. 

Embrace  him  straiter  in  that  feigned  shape. 

Next,  to  a  Serpent  he  transform 'd  himself. 

With  fiery  eyes,  and  dreadful  blackish  scales, 

And  three-fork 'd  hissing  tongue,  that  might  affright 

Th'  undaunted  Master  of  dread  Cerberus; 

Pressing  with  double  strength  his  scaled  crest; 

AVherewith  the  Prince,  rather  enrag'd  than  fear'd, 

Made  him  betake  him  to  another  form ; 

Which  was,  a  sumptuous  Casket,  richly  wrought, 

Whereout,  when  it  open'd,  many  diadems. 

And  rubies  of  inestimable  worth. 

Seemed  by  chance  to  drop  into  the  sea. 

This  working  nought  but  scorn,  and  high  disdain, 

He  lastly  shew'd  him  a  sad  spectacle. 

Which  was,  the  North-east  of  his  valiant  Knights. 

And  best  beloved  of  my  Lord,  the  Prince, 

Mangled  and  prick 'd  with  many  a  grisly  wound. 

Welt 'ring  their  valiant  limbs  in  purple  goar. 

Gasping,  and  closing  their  faint  dying  eyes. 

80 


This  with  the  Prince,  now  ns  'd  to  his  delusions 

Prevail 'd  no  more,  than  aid  the  rest  before. 

When  Proteus  then  had  chang'd  his  changing  weed, 

And  fix'd  himself  in  his  own  wonted  shape, 

Seeing  no  other  means  could  ought  prevail, 

He  ransom  profer'd  for  his  liberty. 

And  first  of  all,  he  offer 'd  to  aread 

To  him,  and  unto  all  his  Knights,  Fortune's  spell. 

But  when  my  Lord  reply 'd,  that  that  was  fit 

For  unresolved  cowards  to  obtain ; 

And  how  his  Fortune's  often  changing  play, 

Would  lose  the  pleasure  of  his  chief  delight. 

If  the  catastrophe  should  be  before  known : 

Then  offer 'd  he  huge  treasures.  Ladies'  Loves, 

Honour  and  Fame,  and  famous  Victories.  ... 

My  Lord  made  answer,  ' '  That  he  never  would 

Offer  his  honour  so  great  wrong,  to  take, 

By  gift  or  magic,  without  sweat  or  pain, 

Labour  or  danger.  Virtue's  truest  prize. 

That  which  by  mortal  hand  might  be  atchiev'd ; 

And  therefore  willed  him,  as  demy-god, 

To  offer  somewhat  that  might  be  above 

The  lowly  compass  of  an  human  iK)wer." 

When  Proteus  saw  the  Prince  could  make  his  match. 

He  told  him  then,  that  uuder  th'  Artie  Pole 

The  Adamantine  Rock,  the  Sea's  true  Star 

Was  situate ;  which,  by  his  power  divine. 

He,  for  this  ransom,  would  remove,  and  plant 

Whereas  he  should  appoint :  assuring  him, 

That  the  wild  empire  of  the  Ocean 

(If  his  fore-telling  spirit  fail'd  him  not) 

Should  follow  that,  wher  e'er  it  should  be  set, 

But  then  again,  he  added  this  condition, 

Which,  as  he  thought,  would  no  way  be  perform'd; 

81 


That  first  the  Prince  should  bring  him  to  a  Power. 
Which  in  attractive  virtue  should  surpass 
The  wondrous  force  of  his  Iron-drawing  rocks. 
My  Lord,  that  knew  himself  as  well  assured, 
As  Proteus  thought  his  own  match  surely  made, 
■     ■  Easily  yielded  to  his  covenant; 

And  promis'd  further,  on  his  Princely  word. 
That  he  himself,  and  seven  of  his  Knights, 
Wou'd  enter  hostages  into  the  rock. 
Which  should  be  brought  to  the  appointed  place, 
Till  this  great  Covenant  should  be  perform 'd. 
Which  now  rests  to  be  done.     Now,  Proteus, 
Since  'tis  a  Question  of  comparison, 
Blazon  you  forth  the  virtue  of  your  rock 

Proteus. 

What  needeth  words,  when  great  ei^ects  proclaim 
Th'  attractive  virtue  of  th'  Adamantine  Rocks, 
AVhich  forceth  iron,  which  all  things  else  commands. 
Iron,  of  metals  Prince  by  ancient  right ; 
Though  factious  men  in  vain  conspire  to  seat 
Eebellious  Gold  in  his  usurped  throne. 
Thus,  sundry  metals,  of  such  strength  and  use 
■    {Disjoin'd  by  distance  o'  th'  whole  hemisphere) 
Continually,  with  trembling  aspect, 
True  subject-like,  eyes  his  dread  Sovereign. 
Thus  hath  this  Load-stone,  by  his  powerful  touch, 
Made  the  iron-needle,  Load-star  of  the  World, 
A  Mercury,  to  paint  the  gayest  way 
In  Wat'ry  Wilderness,  and  Desert  Sands; 
In  confidence  whereof,  the  assured  Mariner 
'       Doth  not  importune  Jove,  Sun,  or  Star. 
By  his  attractive  force,  was  drawn  to  light. 
From  depth  of  ignorance,  that  new  found  world, 

82 


Whose  golden  mines  Iron  found  out  and  conquer 'd 
These  be  the  virues,  and  extend  so  far, 
"Which  you  do  take  to  counterpraise. 

Esquire. 

Proteus,  the  seas  have  taught  your  speech  to  swell, 
Where  work  of  mind  doth  wat'ry  castles  make. 
But  calm  awhile  your  over-weening  vaunts : 
Prepare  belief,  and  do  not  use  your  eyes. 


Excellent  QUEEN,  true  Adamant  of  Hearts; 
Out  of  that  sacred  garland  ever  grew 
Garlands  of  Virtues,  Beauties,  and  Perfections, 
That  Crowns  your  Crown,  and  dims  your  Fortune's 

beams, 
Vouchsafe  some  branch,   some  precious  flower,  or 

leaf. 
Which,  though  it  wither  in  my  barren  verse. 
May  yet  suffice  to  overshade  and  drown 
The  rocks  admired  of  this  demy-god. 
Proteus,  stout  Iron-homager  to  your  rock. 
In  praise  of  Force,  and  Instruments  of  wars. 
Hath  praise  ended :  yet  place  our  praises  right ; 
For  Force  to  Will,  and  Wars  to   Peace  to  yield.         ' 
But  that  I'll  give  you.     This  I  would  fain  know. 
What  can  your  Iron  do  without  Arms  of  Men  1 
And  Arms  of  Men  from  Hearts  of  Men  do  move  r 
That  Hearts  of  Men  hath  it,  their  motion  springs. 
Lo,  Proteus,  then,  the  attractive  Rock  of  Hearts : 
Hearts,  which  once  truly  touched  with  her  Beams,. 
Inspiring  purest  zieal  and  reverence 
As  well  unto  the  Person,  as  the  Power, 
Do  streight  put  off  all  temper  that  is  false, 

83 


All  hollow  fear,  and  schooled  flattery, 

Turn  Fortune's  wheel,  they  ever  keep  their  point. 

And  stand  direct  upon  the  Loyal  Line. 

Your  Eock  claims  kindred  of  the  Polar  Star, 

Because  it  draws  the  Needle  to  the  North; 

Yet  even  that  Star  gives  place  to  Cynthia's  rays, 

Whose  drawing  virtues  govern  and  direct 

The  flots  and  reflots  of  the  ocean. 

But  Cynthia,  praised  be  your  wat'ry  reign, 

Your  influence  in  Spirits  have  no  place. 

This  Cynthia  high  doth  rule  those  heavenly  tides, 

Whose  sovereign  grace,  as  it  doth  wax  or  wain. 

Affections  so,  and  Fortune's  ebb  and  flow: 

Sometimes  their  waves  applauding  on  the  Shore, 

Sometimes  retiring  to  their  narrow  depths. 

The  holy  Syrians  draw  pilgrims  from  all  parts, 

To  pass  the  mountains,  seas,  and  desert  sands. 

Unto/ this  living  Saint  have  Princes  high. 

Of  Foreign  lands,  made  vowed  pilgrimage. 

What  excellencies  are  there  in  this  frame. 

Of  all  things,  which  her  virtue  doth  not  drawl 

The  Quintessence  of  Wits,  the  Fire  of  Loves, 

The  Art  of  Fame,  Metals  of  Courages, 

And  by  her  Virtue  long  may  fixed  be 

The  Wheel  of  Fortune,  and  the  Carr  of  Time, 

In  the  Protection  of  this  mighty  Bock, 

In  Britain  land,  whilst  tempests  abroad, 

The  lordly  and  the  lowly  shepherd  both, 

In  plenteous  peace  have  fed  their  happy  flocks. 

Upon  the  force  of  this  inviolate  Eock, 

The  giant-like  attempts  of  Power  unjust 

Have  suffer 'd  wreck.    And,  Proteus,  for  the  Seas, 

Whose  Empire  large  your  praised  Eock  assures : 

Your  gift  is  void,  it  is  already  here; 

84 


As  Russia,  China  and  Negellan's  Strait 

Can  witness  here,  well  may  your  presence  be 

Impressa,  apt  thereof;  but  sure,  not  cause. 

Fisher  divine,  congratulate  yourself. 

Your  eyes,  hath  won  more  than  your  State  hath  lost ; 

Yield  Victory,  and  Liberty,  and  Thanks. 

Proteus. 

Against  the  Truth,  that's  Lands  and  Seas  above, 

It  fits  no  Proteus  make  a  vain  reply. 

The  shallop  may  not  with  small  ships  contend, 

Nor  windy  bubble  with  a  billow  strive. 

Nor  earthly  things  compare  with  greatest  Queen 

That  hath  and  shall  a  regal  sceptre  sway. 

Bless 'd  be  that  Prince  that  forc'd  me  see  this  Grace, 

Which  worldly  Monarchies,  and  Sea-Powers  adore. 

Take  Thanks  of  Gift,  and  Liberty  of  Due. 

When  these  Speeches  were  thus  delivered,  Proteus,  with 
his  bident  (sic)  striking  of  adamant,  which  was  mentioned 
in  the  Speeches,  made  utterances  for  the  Prince,  and  his 
seven  Knights,  who  had  given  themselves  as  hostages 
for  the  performance  of  the  Covenants  between  the  Prince 
and  Proteus,  as  is  declared  in  the  Speeches.  Hereat  Pro- 
teus, Amphitrite,  and  Thamesis,  with  their  attendants, 
the  Nymphs  and  Tritons,  went  unto  the  rock,  and  then  the 
Prince  and  the  seven  Knights  issued  forth  of  the  rock,  in 
a  very  stately  mask,  very  richly  attired,  and  gallantly 
provided  of  all  things  meet  for  the  performance  of  so 
great  an  enterprise.  They  came  forth  of  the  rock  in 
couples,  and  before  every  couple  came  two  pigmies  with 
torches.  At  their  first  coming  on  the  Stage,-  they  danced 
a  new  devised  measure,  &c..  After  which,  they  took  unto 
them  Ladies ;  and  with  them  they  danced  their  galliards, 

85 


coTirants,  &c.  And  they  danced  another  new  measure*^ 
after  the  end  whereof,  the  pigmies  brought  eight  escutch- 
eons, with  the  maskers  devices  thereupon,  and  delivered 
them  to  the  Esquire,  who  offered  them  to  her  Majesty^ 
which  being  done,  they  took  tiieir  order  again,  and,  with 
a  new  strain,  went  all  into  the  rock ;  at  which  time  there 
was  sung  another  new  Hymn  within  the  rock. 


The  second  Hymn,  which  was  sung  at  the  departure  of 
the  Maskers  into  the  Rock. 

Shadows  before  the  shining  Sun  do  vanish: 
Th'  iron-forcing  Adamant  doth  resign 
His  virtues,  where  the  Diamond  doth  shine. 

Pure  Holiness  doth  all  Inchantments  blemish  {sic)  -, 

And  Councellors  of  false  Principality 
Do  fade  in  presence  of  true  Majesty. 

Shepherds  sometimes  in  Lion's-skins  were  cloath'd; 
But  when  the  Royal  Lion  doth  appear. 
What  wonder  if  the  silly  swains,  for  fear. 

Their  bravery,  and  Princely  pall  have  loath 'd? 
The  Lion's-skin,  that  grac'd  our  vanity, 
Falls  down  in  presence  of  her  Majesty. 


The  Impresses  which  the  Maskers  used  upon  their  Es- 
cutcheons, for  their  Devices. 

H.  Helms,  Prince.     In  a  bark  of  a  cedar-tree,  the  charac- 
ter E  engraven.    Crescetis. 

W.  CooJce.    In  a  plain  shield,  as  it  were  Abrassa  tabula. 
Quid  ipsa  velis. 

88 


Jarvis  T every.    A  tortoise,  with  his  head  out  of  the  shell. 
Obnoxia. 

JoJi.  Lambert.     A  torch  by  the  sun.     Quis  furor. 

Molineux.     A  river  with  many  turnings  running  into  the 
sea.    Semper  ad  mare. 

Crimes.     A  flag  streaming  in  the  wind.    Famamque  fove- 
mus  inanem. 

Paylor.    A  sail  and  an  oar  together.    Fors  &  Virtus  mis- 
centur  in  unum. 

Campnies.    A  flag  of  fire  wavering  upwards.     Tremet  <& 
ardet. 

For  the  present  her  Majesty  graced  every  one;  par- 
ticularly, she  thanked  his  Highness  for  the  performance 
of  all  that  was  done;  and  wished  that  their  sports  had 
continued  longer,  for  the  pleasure  she  took  therein; 
which  may  well  appear  from  her  answer  to  the  Courtiers, 
who  danced  a  measure  immediately  after  the  mask  was 
ended,  saying,  "What!  shall  we  have  bread  and  cheese 
after  a  banquet  f"  Her  majesty  willed  the  Lord  Cham- 
berlain, that  the  gentlemen  should  be  invited  on  the  next 
day,  and  that  he  should  present  them  unto  her.  Which 
was  done,  and  her  Majesty  gave  them  her  hand  to  kiss, 
with  most  gracious  words  of  commendations  to  them  par- 
ticularly, and  in  general  of  Gray's-Inn,  as  an  House  she 
was  much  beholden  unto,  for  that  it  did  always  study  for 
some  sports  to  present  unto  her. 

The  same  night  there  was  fighting  at  barriers;  the 
Earl  of  Essex  and  others  challengers,  and  the  Earl  of 
Cumberland  and  his  company  defendants;  into  which 
number  our  Prince  was  taken,  and  behaved  himself  so 
valiantly  and  skilfully  therein,  that  he  had  the  prize  ad- 
judged due  unto  him,  which  it  pleased  her  Majesty  to  de- 

57 


liver  Mm  with  her  own  hands,  telling  him,  "That  it  was 
not  her  gift ;  for  if  it  had,  it  should  have  been  better ;  but 
she  gave  it  him  as  that  prize  which  was  due  to  his  desert 
and  good  behaviour  in  those  exercises ;  and  that  hereafter 
he  should  be  remembered  with  a  better  reward  from  her- 
self." The  prize  was  a  jewel  set  with  seventeen  dia- 
monds and  four  rubies,  in  value  accounted  worth  an  hun- 
dred marks. 

Thus,  on  Shrove  Tuesday,  at  the  Court,  were  our 
sports  and  revels  ended:  so  that  our  Christmas  would 
not  leave  us,  till  such  time  as  Lent  was  ready  to  enter- 
tain us,  which  hath  always  been  accounted  a  time  most 
apt,  and  wholly  dedicated  to  repentance.  But  now  our 
Principality  is  determined,  which  although  it  shined 
very  bright  in  ours  and  others'  darkness,  yet,  at  the 
Royal  Presence  of  her  Majesty,  it  appeared  as  an  ob- 
scured shadow :  in  this,  not  unlike  unto  the  j\Iorning-star, 
which  looketh  very  chearfully  in  the  World,  so  long  as 
the  Sun  looketh  not  on  it:  or,  as  the  Great  Rivers,  that 
triumph  in  the  Multitude  of  their  Waters,  until  they  come 
unto  the  Sea.     Sic  vinci,  sic  mori  pulchrum! 


88 


INDEX 

(To  Introductioiu 


Alleyn,    Edward xxxviii,  xlvi 

Bacon,  Anthony viii,  Ivi,  Ivii,  Ixi,  Ixii,  Ixiii 

Bacon,  Francis,  iii,  iv,  v,  x,  xi,  xii,  xiii,  xv,  xvi.  xvii,  xviii,  xix,  xx,  xxiii, 

xxiv.  xxvii.  xxxiii,  xxxiv,  xxxix,  xl,  xli.  xil,  1,  li,  Iii,  liv,  Iviii, 

Ixii,  Ixiii,  Ixxi.  Ixxiii.  Ixxvi.  Ixxvii,  Ixxxiii. 

Bacon,  Friar Ixx,  Ixxi.  Ixxvi 

Bacon,    Roger Ixx,  Ixxi 

Bellott.   Stephen •. . Ixii 

Bollivant.   Edmund xxxiii 

Bruce,   John xi 

Buc,  Sir  George xliii,  xliv 

Buckhurst,  Lord ix,  xii 

Bullen.  A.   II viii 

Bungay.  Friar Ixx,  Ixxvi 

Burbage,    Cuthbert xiv 

Burbage.    James xiv 

Burbage,   Richard xxxix.   xlvi 

Burleigh.  Lord   xli.  xii 

Caesar,  Sir  Julius Iviii 

Cami>beII,    Lord liv 

Campion,   Edward xxiii 

Campion.  Thomas vi.  xii.  xviii,  xix.  xx.  xxi.  xxii,  xxiii.  xxiv 

Canning.  W iv.  xi.  xii 

Carey.  Sir  Henry xl.  xliv 

Carleton.    Dudley Ixi 

Cecil,  Anne xliv 

Cecil,  Sir  Robert ix.  Iii,  liv 

Cecil,  William.  Lord xvi.  xli.  xliv.  xil 

Chamberlain.  John Iii,  ixi.  Ixii 

Charles  I,  King Ixiii 

Chettle.    Henry xxxvii 

Clement  IV,  Pope Ixxi 

Coke,  Sir  Edward .iv.  xvi,  xxxiv.  Ivii.  Iviii.  lix 

Condell,    Henry xv 

Compton.    Lord xiv 

Cooke,    Edward xxv 

Cooke,    John xxv 

Cooke.    William xxxiv 

Cumberland,  George  Clififord,  Earl  of ix,  xxv,  xxvii 

Curie.  Mr.  Auditor i 

Davenant.  William   Ixiv 

Davies.  John,  of  Hereford Ixv 

Davison,   Christopher ix 

Davison,  Francis vi,  vii.  viii,  ix,  xii,  xx,  Ivii 

Davison,  Sir  William viii,  ix 

Derby,  Earl  of xlvi,  xlvii 

Dobell.    Bertram xlii 

Donne,   Dr.   John Ixi 

Dudley,  Sir  Robert X 


Dyer,   Sir  EchA'ard Ixi 

East,    Thomas xxxiii 

Elizabeth,  Queen iv,  viii,  xiii,  xxi,     xxvili    xlv,  lii 

Erb,  Frederic  W iv 

Essex,  Earl  of viii,  ix,  xiv,  xv,  xxv,  xxvii,  liii,  Ixi,  Ixii 

Falstaff,  Sir  John liii 

Field,    Nathaniel Ix 

Field,    Bishop  Theophilus Ix 

Fish,  Simon xxiv 

Fletcher,    Anthony xxv 

Gascoigne,  George xxiv,  Ixix 

Gesta,  Grayorum.  iii,  iv,  v,  vi,  ix,  x,  xi,  xii,  xiii,  xvii,  xxiii,  xxv,  xxvii, 
xxxiii,  XXXV,  xli,  xiii,  xlvi. 

Goodere,   Sir  Henry Ixi 

Gray,'  Lords     xxvii 

Greene,  Robert,  xxxviii,  Iv,  Ixvii,  Ixviii,  Ixix.  Ixx.  Ixxiii.  Ixxiv.  Ixxv.  Ixxvi 
Guizo,    Stuf ano xxxii 

Hamlet xv,  xlvi,  xvi,  Ix,  Ixi,  Ixviii,  Ixix 

helme.  Sir  Henry vii.  x.  xxiii.  xxiv,  xxv.  xxviii 

Heminge,  John xiv.  xv,  Ix 

Henneage.    Sir    Thomas ix.  li 

Herbert,  Sir  Henry xliv.  Ixiii.  Ixiv 

Herbert.    Philip Ixiv 

Hey  wood,    Jasper Ixi 

Hobby,  Sir  Edward xliv.  xlv 

Hobby,   Sir  Tliomas xxxiii 

Howard,  Lord  Thomas ix 

Hunsdon,    Lord xl 

James  I,  King xxviii 

Jonson,    Ben Ixiv 

John,  of  London Ixxi,  Ixxiii 

Johannes,    Factotum Ixxi 

Johannes,   Peur    Ixx,   Ixxi 

Keepe,  Henry xii 

Kempe.  William xxxix.  lix.  Ix.  Ixi 

Killigrew.   Sir  Robert Ixiii 

Killigrew.  Thomas Ixiii.  Ixiv 

Killigrew,    William Ixiii 

Lillie.   John xxv 

Lodge.  Tliomas xlvii,  xii.  xlvi.  Ixi.  Ixviii 

Lucy,  Sir  Thomas xxxiv 

Lucy,  Sir  Thomas,  wife  of liii 

Lyly.   John xii.   xlvi 

Manningham.    John Iviii 

Manwood,  Sir  Roger Ivii.  Iviii 

Meres.  Francis xix,  xxxix: 

Monteagle.  Lord ix 

Montgomery.  Philip  Herbert.  Earl  of Ixiv 

Mont  joy,    Lord ix 

Mont  joy,   Mary Ixii 

Montjoy.  the  Tire-maker Ixii 

Nashe.  Thomas xxxvii,  xxxviii,  xlvi.  Ix,  Ixvii.  Ixviii.  Ixix 

Navarre,  Henry,  King  of Ivi 

Nichols.   John xii 

Northumberland,  Earl  of ix 


NortlnnnI)orlaiul,  Dnk(>  ol" xi 

NortluuulnTliuul,    Manuscript ix 

Nov.    licports iv 

Oxford,  Earl  of xlvi 

Paulot,   Sir  Amias viii 

riiilli]  )s.    Ausustino xiv 

rhillipps.  Halliwell xl,  xil,  Ixv,  Ixvi 

Fortpoole,  Prince  of,  viii.  x,  xviii,  xxiii,  xxiv,  xxv,  xxvi,  xxvili,  xxix, 

xxxi.  xxxii.  xxxvi. 

Rowe,    Nicholas xivi 

Russell.  Lady  Elizabeth xlv,  xlviii 

Russell,  John.  Lord xliv 

Russell.  Thomas xlv 

Sackville,    Gliomas xii 

Shagbag,  Johannis    • •  • xxxvi 

Shakescene  -xxxviii,  Ixx 

Shakespeare,    William,    iii.    iv.    xi,    xiii.    xlv,    xix,    xxxi,    xxxiv,   xxxvii, 

xxxviii.  xxxix.  xl.  xli.  xlii,  xliii,  xlv,  xlvi,  xil,  1.  liv,  Ix,  Ixiv.  Ixv, 

Ixvi.  Ixvii,  Ixxi,  Ixxiii. 

Sidney.  Sir  Philip xxxiii.  Ixi 

Smith.  Hon.  Mathew iv,  xi 

Smith,    Thomas xxv 

Shrewsbury.  Earl  of ix 

■Southampton,  Countess  of liii,  liv 

Southampton,  Earl  of ix,  xil,  1,  li,  Iii,  liv 

Speddins.  .Tames v,  vi,  xxi 

t^pencer,   Edmund xxxvii 

Stanley.  ^Yilliam,  Earl  of  Derby xlvi 

Tilney.   Edmund xliii.  xliv 

Tompkins.   Thomas xxv 

Trott.   Nicholas xxiv 

Tyrwhitt    • Ixvii 

Underbill.  William  Gent Ixvi,  Ixvii 

Underbill,   Hercules Ixvii 

Vernon.  Elizabeth Iii,  liii 

Vere,    Susan.   Countess   of   Montgomery xliv 

Wallace.  C.  W..  Dr xv,  Ix,  Ixv 

Wentworth,    Philip xxv 

White,  W.  A iv 

Wiler,  Master  Rogers ; . . lix 

Windsor.  Lord ix 

Wither   George Ixix 

Wolsey,  Cardinal xxiv 

Wriothesley.  Henry.  3d  Earl  of  Southampton xii 

Yelverton.  Christopher xxiv.  xxv.  xxvii 

Yelverton,    Mabel xxvi 

lelverton,  William xxv,  xxvi 


INDEX 

(To  Essays) 


Alleyn,    Giles 84,  85 

Aurelius,    Abraham 151 

Bacon,  Anne,  Lady. .  .27,  50,  51,  59,  88,  89,  92,  93,  94,  97,  98,  101,  102,  129 

Bacon,  Anthony.  .27,  52,  62,  63,  67,  84,  88,  89,  91,  92,  93,  94,  151.  156,  161 

Bacon,  Sir  Edmund 22,  27,  28,  108 

Bacon,  Edward 22,  51.  52,  108 

Bacon,  Francis,  2,  3.  6,  14,  18,  22.  25,  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31,  32,  33.  34,  35 

36,  37,  38,  42,  44,  45.  48,  49,  50,  51,  52,  54,  61.  62.  65.  67.  68,  77 

79,  83.  84.  86,  87.  89,  90,  92,  95.  97,  98.  99,  100,  101,  102.  104,  105 

107,  120.  123,  128,  129,  134,  136,  140,  144,  145,  147,  149.  151.  155 
156,  158.  159,  160,  168. 

Bacon,  Francis,  Vicar  of  Ansley  187,  188 

Bacon,    Henry 168 

Bacon,  Jane,   Lady 22 

Bacon,   John 107,  149 

Bacon,    Margaret 22 

Bacon,  Margery 108 

Bacon,   Mathias 28,  29 

Bacon,  Matthew 29.  30,  31 

Bacon,  Nathaniel 52 

Bacon,  Sir  Nathaniel 22 

Bacon,  Sir  Nicholas 20,  22,  27,  50,  52,  59.  83,  91,  119,  143,  1.52.  157 

Bacon,  Sir  William 22 

Bacon,  Thomas 22 

Bacoun,  The  Abbot 56 

Bakon,    Will 158 

Basshe,  Edward.  Esq 82 

Bayning,  Paul.  Viscount 145 

Beeston,  Hugh 131,  134 

Belknap,  Sir  Edward 158 

Belknap,    Elizabeth 57 

Belknap,    Sir   Henry 57 

Belknaps.   The 158,  160 

Belott,    Stephen 151 

Belott.    Thomas 152 

Bettenliam,  Jermy 41 

Boleyn,    Anne 20 

Breton,    Nicholas 149 

Brooke,    Elizabeth 104 

Brooke.  Henry 27,  104 

Buc.  Sir  George 14,  16,  27,  28,  31,  32,  33 

Buck,    John 16 

Bucke,    George 124 

Buckingham,  Earl  of 31 

Brvdges,  Sir  Egerton 162 

Burbage,  Cuthbert 83,  85.  86.  135,  140 

Burbage,  James 27,  64,  79.  83,  135 

Burbage,  Richard 15,  23,  66,  79 

Burbage,    Robert 79.  185 


BnrbaKe,    Thomas 79.  82,     83 

Burbage,    William 84 

Butler,   Sir   John 82 

Butts,  Sir  William 20,  21,  22,  154,  155 

Camdpu.  William 28 

Carey,   Sir   (Jeorge .     27 

Carey,  Sir  IIenry| 25,  26,  27,  63,     68 

Carey,    Margaret 26,     68 

Carleton,  Sir  Dudley 130,  132,  133,  137,  138,  144,  145 

Castol,    John 151 

Caulton,  Anne 59 

Cecil,  Anne,  Countess  of  Oxford 162,  165 

Cecil,   Mildred 59 

Cecil.  Sir  Robert 37,  47.  48,  lOO,  101,  104,  108,  128,  131 

Cecil,  William.  Lord  Burleigh 26,  47.  59.  128.  135,  152.  156.  163.  165 

Chamberlain.  John 136,  137.  140.  142,  143,  144.  148 

Chaucer,  Thomas 108 

Chester,    Robert 79 

Chester,  Sir  Robert 82 

Cobham,    Lord 27.  104.  148 

Coke,  Sir  Edward 35,  37,  38,  39,  62,  63,  107,  108 

Collier,    Payne 120,  177 

Colepepper.  Tliomas 57 

Combe.   John 64,  140 

Cook,  Sir  Anthony 57,  58,  59.  105 

Cook,  William 52,  62,     63 

Cooke,    Anne 53 

Cooke,  Sir  Anthony 50.  77.  78.     83 

Cooke,    Elizabeth 68 

Cooke.    James 72 

Cooke,  Sir  John  Philip 57 

Cooke.  Margaret 54.  83,     88 

Cooke,  Mildred 47.  59.  86.  156 

Cooke,  Sir  Thomas 18,  57,  59,  62,  105,  106.  107 

Cooke,  William    86 

Cooke,  Sir  William 54.  62,  63,     79 

Cope.  Sir  Walter 131.  134,  135 

Cope,  Watt 131,  132,  144 

Copley.    Sir  Thomas 160 

Cornwallis,   Sir  William 22 

Cromwell,   Tliomas 19,     20 

Curie.  Mr.  Auditor 1 

Dandy.   Arthur 118,  119 

Daundie.    Tliomas 118 

Davies.  John  of  Hereford 118 

De  Arden.   AVilliam 57 

De  Bret.    William 57 

De  la    Poole.    Alice 108 

De  la  Poole.  William 108 

De  Reinalme.    Astanius 152 

Deveraux,    Walter 110 

Donnelly.    Ignatius 34,     37 

Drayton,  Michael 30,  53,  54,  56.  59.  72.  73,  74,  75,  77,  108 

Dudley,  Ambrose    50 

Dudley,  Robert     50 

Dugdale,  Sir  William 59 


Dyer,  Lord  Chief  Justice 122 

Edgerton,  Sir  Tliomas 46,     99 

Edmunds.  Sir  Tliomas 135 

Edward   IV.   King 17 

Elizabeth,  Queen. . .  .3,  25.  27.  47.  50.  58,  63.  66.  80,  87.  108,  132,  147.  168 

Essex,  Earl  of 26.  28.  48,  63.  99.  100,  109.  110,  143,  145,  147,  148 

FalstafE,  Sir  John 105,  107,  110,  112,  116,  118 

Fastolf.    Alice 107 

Fastolfe,    Anne 118 

Fastolf,  Henry    20 

Fastolf,  John     107 

Fastolf,  Sir  John,  18,  103,  104,  105,  106,  107,  110,  111,  112,  113,  114,  115 
117,  118. 

Fastolf.  Lionell    107 

Fastolf,  Millicent    115 

Fastolf.  Nicholas    • 113 

Fastolf,  Thomas 107,  112,  113 

Fastolf,  Thomas   1 10 

Fenton,    Roger 5,       6 

Feme,  Sir  John 129 

Field,  Richard 64,  138 

Fitzroy.   Henry 20 

Fitz-William,  Anne    58 

Fitz-William,  Sir    William 58 

Fitton.  Anne.  Lady  Newdigate 86 

Fleetwood,    William 91,  159 

Fletcher,    Giles 87 

Fletcher.  John 136 

Fletcher,  Reginald  J 87 

Fortescue,    Sir    John 98,     99 

Gardiner,   Stephen 19 

Oascoyne,   William 18,  169,  173 

Giles,    Karoll 115 

Gilbert,  Dr 131,  137,  144 

Glenham.  Anne,  Lady 145 

Glenham,   Sir  Henry 145 

■Goodere,  Anne    53 

Goodere,  Frances    52,    53,     76 

Goodere,  Henry    53 

Goodere,  Sir  Henry 52,  53,  54.  60,  71.  75,  76,     77 

Goodere.  William     53 

Goodier,  Sir   Francis    53 

Goss,  Charles  W.   F 150,  152 

Gray,  Elizabeth    57 

Gray,  Lady    Jane 76 

Greville.   Fulke 63,     90 

Grey,  Elizabeth.    Lady 57 

Greene,  Robert. 64,  122,  162 

Greenwood,   Sir  George 155 

Guy,    John 13 

Hales,  Dame    126 

Hales.  Sir    James •  •  •  •   123 

Hall.  Dr.  John •  •  • 72^ 

Hamlet,   120,  121,  122,   124.  125,  126,  127 

Harvey,   Dr.  William • •  •   145 


'^ 


llartoi)!).    Geoi'se 155 

Hardri'skuU.    William  tie 5G 

Ilaiit.  Sir  William 57 

Ilayward.    John 145 

Ilcniinge,    John 33,     34 

Ilonoago,  Sir  Thomas 27,  28.  101,  125 

Herbert,   George 32 

Herbert.  Sir  Henry 26,  31,     33 

Herbert.  Philii),  Earl  of  Montgomery 31,  32,  33,  34.  168 

Herbert.  AVilliam.  Earl  of  I'embrokc 31,  33,     34 

Heron,    Mr.    A 5 

Heywood,   Jasper 124,  125 

Hicks.    Sir    Michael 6.  144 

Hobby,   Sir   Edward ? .  .  26.     68 

Hobey.  Sir   Thomas 68,     83 

Hudson,  James    86 

Hudson.  John    86 

Hudson.  Richard    84,  85.     86 

Ilunsdon.  Eirst    Lord 27 

Hunsdon.  Second    Lord 25,  26,  27.  63,     68 

Hyde,    John 135 

Jessopp,   Augustus 156 

Jonson.  Ben 30.  31.  73.  74.  75.  106.  120.  136.  147 

Johnson.  William 34,  37,  40,  41,  43.     44 

Jones.    Ed 40 

Kempe.  Robert    98 

Kempe.  William     45,     66 

King   p]d\vard    VI .50.     51 

Killigrew.  Sir    Henry 59 

Killigrew.   Katharine 59 

Knight.    Robert 87.     88 

Lea.  Sir  Harry     142 

Lea,  Sir  Richard     142 

Lee.  Sir  Sidney    124 

Leicester.  Earl  of 50 

Lorkin,    Thomas 22,     23 

Lucy,  Joyce  54.  59.  62.     63 

Lucy,   Sir  Thomas 54.  59,  60,  61.  62,  63.     79 

IjUIius,    Hugh 55.     62 

Mauninglnuu,    John 1 

Marchall.  William 170 

Maxey,  Amias     86 

Maxey.  Sir   Flenry S6 

Markham.  Sir  John 17,     is 

Mathew,  Tobie 32,  52,  130.  131 

Meautys,   Sir  Thomas ' •  • 22,  32 

Mescliines.  Ranueph  de 55 

Mills.    William 41 

Moleyns,   Sir  William 108 

Mont  joy.  Christopher 151.   153,  155 

More.    Sherife 44.     48 

Moore.   Sir  William 83 

Morgan.   Dr.   Appleton 46 

Nashe.  Thomas 120.  121.  122,  124.  125.  126,  154 

Neville.    Sir    Flenry 143 

Norton.    John 138 


Norfolk.  Duke  of 163 

Noy,    Sir    William 44 

Ockhold,    Richard 16 

Oldcastle,  Sir  John 103,  104,  112 

Osborne,  Alice    16S 

Osborne,  Frances   168 

Osborne,  John    168 

Osborne,  Thomas    84,  85 

Oxford,  Anne,  Countess  of 162,  165 

Oxford, ,  Edward  de  Vere,  Earl  of 162,  163 

Parker,  Catherine 53 

I'arker,  Edmond    58 

I'arker,  Michael    58 

Parker,  Ralph     56 

Parker.  William    53 

Paulett,  Sir  Amias .51,  95,  97 

Paulett,  Lady   95,  96 

Parsons.    Father 156,  157 

Paston.  Bridget    107 

I'aston,  Sir    John 11,5 

Paston,  John 115,  116 

Pembroke.  IMiilip  Herbert,  Earl  of 65 

PhilHps,  Halliwell 23 

Pole,    Thomas 159 

Poynings,   Edward    107 

Puckeringe,  John    29 

Puckeringe,   Sir  Thomas 22 

Purefooy.    Francis 56 

Qnai'les,  Edmund    118 

Quarles,  Francis     118 

Quiney.    Judith 73 

Rainsford.    Sir    Henry 76 

Raleigh.  Sir  Walter 23,  108 

Rawley,   William.    Chaplain 60 

Reynolds,    Henry.   Esq 71,  73 

Riche,    Barnaby 152 

Rivers,  Lady    18 

Rivers.  Lord    18 

Rcwlett,    Radus 88 

Rowlett,   Sir   Ralph 53,  54,  82,  83,  88 

Russell,  Anne    147 

Russell,  Elizabeth.   Lady 50.  59.  147 

Russell.  Sir    John 50,  59 

Sackville.   Sir  Edward 32 

Scropo,  Mellicent    106 

Serope,  Poulett 116,  169^ 

Scrope,  Sir   Stephen 118,   119,  176 

Segar,    William 15,  43 

Sevmour,    Jane 20 

Shakespeare.  William.  1.  3.  4.  14.  18.  20.  23.  25.  26.  27.  28.  30.  31.  33.  50 

52.  63.  64.  65,  67  .68.  72.  73,  75.  79.  84,  S9.  90,  93.  97.  103,  104,  105 

106.  lOS,  110.  118.  123,  124,  126,  128,  129,  136,  14<>,  145,  149,  151 
154.  158.  159.  168.  187. 

Shaw,    Weston 53 

Shaxton,   Mr 5,  6 

Shelley,   John,    Esq 158 


rp. 


Sidney,   Sir  Robert 23 

Smith.   Tonhniii ;J7,  73 

SouKTscalcs,   John    2,  3 

Sontlianipton,  Henry  Herbert,  Earl  of G,  23,  24,  20 

Stoju's,    Mrs.    Charlotte 84 

Southern,    John 164,  165 

Tarlton.    Richard 178 

Tihiey,   K(hnund 27,  149,  177,  170,  180,  181,  183 

Tilney,  Edward     16,  17 

Tilney.  Robert     17 

T(»mlins.   Thomas   Edlyne 179 

Trott.    Nichohis 39,  142 

Turner.    Dawson 110 

Underbill.  Bridget    145 

T'nderhill.  Hercules     145 

Underbill.  Sir    Hercules 160 

T'nderhill.  Nicholas    158 

I'nderbill.  Sir    Thomas 145 

Van    Lore.    I'eter 91 

\'ere.  Susan.  Countess  of  Montgomery 32 

Waldgrave.  Sir    William 59,  60 

Waldgrave.  Aviee    59 

Walker.    Henry 31,  34 

Wallace.  Prof.  C.  W 31,  135,  151,  152 

Walsingham.  Sir  Francis 149,  178 

Ward.  Rev.  John 73 

Warren.  William  Earl 158 

White.   Rowland 23 

Whitgift.    Kisbop 3,  126 

Wilson.    Robert 17S 

WillougbI)y.    Ambrose 23. 

Windsor.    Lord 151 

Winwood.    Sir    Ralph 135 

Wolsey.  Cardinal 19,  20,  23,  135 

Worralaigbton.  Ralph 155 

Wotton.   Sir  Henry 22 

Wright.    Christopher 56 

Wright.  Jane    56 

Wyrcester,    William 115 


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